SHOPPERS are abandoning Liss because there are no longer any banking facilities in the village, it was claimed this week.

Charles Taylor-Stoakes felt the situation is so bad that he moved his Sensible Bicycle Company out of the village on Wednesday and opened up in Petersfield.

He told The Herald: "We opened in Liss ten years ago and then it was a thriving little village. It had everything. All the shops were open and it was a bustling shopping village."

He said when the Sensible Bicycle Company opened, Petersfield was contending with the advent of the bypass.

"Liss seemed to have more going for it than Petersfield, but over the years and with the closure of the last bank in Liss it has become harder and harder to get people to come to Liss. It has made it very difficult.

Mr Taylor-Stoakes said that recently a cash machine had been introduced in Liss but he added: "The closure of the last bank changed the way that local people shopped. Village people are going straight to Petersfield to the bank and shopping there. "

He said the result was that trade in Liss had began to dry up.

"Every shop was occupied when I first opened and a lot are not there any more."

He added: "Its a shame because the businesses that are in Liss are absolutely wonderful. They couldn't possibly do more to promote trade."

But he said he had taken the decision to move to Petersfield because things were changing in the town and with Tesco about to open "I wanted to be where the action is".

His new Sensible Bicycle Company shop opened on Wednesday off the High Street in Pages Court where he has already been running another shop selling skateboards and accessories for the past 18 months. The new shop will run alongside this.