Office staff in Cheddar breathed a sigh of relief when the threat of impending redundancy was lifted.

The Cheltenham & Gloucester employees had feared they would soon be left jobless when parent company Lloyds announced two months ago that it was to axe the West Country financial group, which also has branches in Wells and Weston-super-Mare.

But in a surprise U-turn, banking giants Lloyds disclosed it was reviewing its planned closure of the branches.

"Staff are no longer at risk of redundancy during the review," said a Lloyds Banking Group spokeswoman.

However, the spokeswoman could not say how long the review would take and whether jobs could still be axed.

"We have to await the outcome of the review," she said.

A brief official statement said: "Lloyds Banking Group announces it is reviewing the planned closure of the Cheltenham & Gloucester branch network. Customers will continue to use the Cheltenham & Gloucester network as usual. All affected colleagues have been briefed by their line managers."

The Unite union said it was seeking urgent talks with Lloyds on the longer term future of Cheltenham & Gloucester.

Cheltenham & Gloucester has some 37 branches throughout the West Country and employs 900 staff nationwide.