ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have claimed to have closed three banks in Brecon and Radnorshire as part of a nation-wide protest.

Activists from Greenpeace have stencilled the message "Barclays Stop Funding the Climate Emergency Greenpeace" in the doorway of the bank’s branch in the Bulwark in Brecon The door has also been glued and a pin placed through the lock.

Barclays has said it aims to open the branches as soon as possible.A sticker has also been placed across the sign giving details of the branch opening hours. It claims the branch has been "closed down as part of a peaceful protest by Greenpeace".

Text on the sticker claims Barclays is the "UK’s biggest funder of fossil fuels and one of the worst banks in the world for fuelling the climate emergency".

Greenpeace, which has also apologised "for any inconvenience", said Barclays and other banks should "fund a way out of this (climate) crisis".

The campaign group said it has targeted 100 branches across the UK including seven in Wales with it saying the Builth Wells and Llandrindod branches have also been targeted.

A spokeswoman said the message stenciled in the doorway wouldn’t have been in permanent ink or paint.

Staff at the Brecon branch discovered the messages when they arrived for work this morning and its understood after speaking to managers they left without opening the branch which failed to open as advertised at 9.30am.

Protesters are staging protest at some branches, including one in Cardiff, but there aren’t any protesters present in Brecon.

Greenpeace issued a statement confirming its actions this morning.

Morten Thaysen, climate finance campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: "Barclays must stop funding the climate emergency, that’s why we’ve taken action today. From floods to bushfires and record heat in Antarctica, the impacts of this crisis are staring us in the face. Yet Barclays keeps pumping billions into fossil fuel companies at exactly the time we need to stop backing these polluting businesses.

"Banks are just as responsible for the climate emergency as the fossil fuel companies they fund, yet they’ve escaped scrutiny for years.We’ve shut down branches across the country to shine a spotlight on Barclays’ role in bankrolling this emergency. It’s time Barclays pulled the plug and backed away from funding fossil fuels for good."A customer, who found the branch closed when he arrived this morning, said he didn't know what to do.The man, who asked not to be named, said: "It's a bt inconvenient to be honest. It's affecting everyday people trying to use the bank- what am I going to do now?"

A Barclays spokeswoman said: "Our priority is to ensure the health and safety of our colleagues and customers and we are working hard to get the branches open as soon as we possibly can although we are not able to give an exact timescale. “We recognise that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today, and are determined to do all we can to support the transition to a low carbon economy, while also ensuring that global energy needs continue to be met.”Barclays said its Builth branch had re-opened by midday.