JOB cuts and branch closures will mark the £5.4 bn deal that saw former building society Woolwich bought by Barclays.

Barclays revealed its plans to axe around 1,000 jobs and close 100 branches as it strives to make savings of £150m a year.

The job cuts would, where possible, be achieved through natural wastage and voluntary redundancy.

Barclays was roundly condemned earlier this year when it announced 26 of its branches, mainly in small towns and villages, would close in the North-East and North Yorkshire as part of 171 countrywide.

Woolwich has more than 6,000 staff in the UK and more than 400 branches, while Barclays employs more than 50,000 UK staff in 1,700 branches.

Although most of the job losses will be in the South East, the Woolwich has branches in York, Harrogate, Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

The branches of Woolwich and Barclays under real threat of closure are the ones located near each other.

Emma Keens, media relations manger for the Woolwich said: "The closures will be of both Woolwich and Barclays branches, and 95 out of the 100 will be where the two are located within 100 metres of each other. We can assure people that no closures will be in rural areas."

Campaigner and Durham county councillor, John Shuttleworth, who fought Barclays recent closure programme, believes the Government should step in where jobs and services are threatened.

"I feel if two companies both making a lot of money as separate bodies, want to merge then it should to the benefit of the customers," he said.

"Where jobs and services are put at risk by the merger then the Government should be able to step in and block it.