Councillors in Tenby have complained about the town being ‘short changed’ by local banks after cash points ran out of money over the busy Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

Speaking at Tuesday night’s meeting of the town council, Clr. Paul Rapi told his colleagues that the bank holiday period was ‘excellent’ for Tenby, despite the weekend being marred by the fact that visitors and locals were forced to ‘carry on’ regardless of the bank’s cash point facilities being cleared of money.

“By Monday night, every one of the banks’ cash points had run out of money!” said Clr. Rapi.

“Some outlets were then charging for credit cards to be used for cash back.

“This sort of carry on is exactly the opposite of what we want in Tenby, it’s not good for the town and unfair to the tourists and people who live here,” he continued, before proposing that the town council contact all the banks in the town to point out the matter and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

“This sort of occurrence affects the banks as well. It would only take one or two staff members to ensure that the cash point machines are refilled,” agreed the Deputy Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane.

Clr.Trevor Hallett said that it was a valid point, as not everybody used credit cards, and a ‘sign of the times’ that people now predominantly relied on machines to provide them with money.

Clr. Mrs. Tish Rossiter referred to a letter in the Observer where Tenby Post Office stated that they had ‘saved Easter’ and the community from a ‘sticky situation’ as they were able to offer a cash withdrawal to customers over the weekend.

“Tenby cash machines ran out of money or broke down over the Bank Holiday weekend which left a lot of cash businesses in a sticky situation,” wrote Vince and Fi Malone of Tenby Post Office in their correspondence.

“Some retailers were also unable to offer cash back due to a lack of money available in town. From Good Friday to Easter Monday, there were over 600 cash withdrawals made at the Post Office, with an average transaction value of £60.

“Over 600 people were provided with much needed cash to spend in Tenby,” they added.

Clr. Mrs. Rossiter praised the Post Office for their ‘brilliant’ work, with the Mayor, Clr. Laurence Blackhall, also congratulating them on their endeavours.