The unbearable stench of raw sewage from blocked drains in Hornchurch High Street has forced a bank to shut up shop.

Barclays Bank staff will close at 1pm today (Friday June 24) and all day tomorrow, after putting up with the pong for three days.

A spokesman said: “Our staff have continued to serve customers, but we have now taken the decision to close the branch due to the fact that it is no longer a healthy working environment for our staff or for our customers entering the branch.

“We apologise to our customers that we are not able to serve them at our Hornchurch branch, but we have redeployed our staff to our branches at 27 Broadway, Elm Park; 29 Station Road, Upminster; and 36/38 South Street, Romford, where our staff will be pleased to help them.

“Customers wanting to obtain cash will still be able to use our external ATM cash machine at our Hornchurch branch as normal.”

The bank hopes Thames Water, responsible for the sewerage system, will have cleared the problem by Monday in time for normal opening.