A BOLD bid to get a credit union up and running in Rainford following the recent closure of their branch of Barclays Bank, is calling on local people to give their support.

A public meeting held last week was attended by a number of residents and a committee of six people was established. They are now planning to produce a leaflet, detailing how credit unions work and calling for local support, which would be distributed to every home in Rainford. They are now looking for sponsorship to help them produce the leaflet and the committee plan to meet up again next week to discuss their future plans.

A stream of criticism concerning Barclays' decision to close 172 local branches recently resulted in an apology from its chairman, Sir Peter Middleton. However, Rainford man, Bryan Lewis, a member of the newly formed committee, said: "I would rather have heard that the apology was for closing branches as opposed to the way they did it.

"As a public relations exercise, the Barclays branch closures have been a complete disaster.

"However, our own meeting was attended by a bank representative, Mark Gidlow who confirmed that the bank is prepared to rent the existing premises for use as a credit union, providing it is operationally viable. They are also prepared to provide advice and assistance which will be very usefu.