SWINTON Insurance is closing its Widnes office as 130 high street branches across the UK face the axe, putting jobs at risk.

The company used to have two branch offices in the town but is now pulling out altogether.

The Widnes Road premises close on October 29.

By mid 2017, the number of branches is set to fall from 325 to 195 as the firm looks to focus on digital and telephone sales, opening a call centre in Manchester.

Customers have received letters notifying them of the closure.

Across the UK, the company has more than 3,000 employees.

A Swinton Insurance spokesman said: “We are investing in our network of high street branches to create a smaller number of more efficient branches and a modern contact centre.

“These changes reflect how our customers choose to engage with us. As part of this process the Widnes branch will close on Saturday, October 29.

“Customers have been informed of this change and they will continue to receive an excellent service from colleagues in our Warrington branch, our contact centre and online.”

The company was founded in 1957 by Ken Scowcroft who started the first car insurance brokerage business from the front room of his house in Salford.

The first premium cost £5 and he sold around 100 policies in the first year.

Until then drivers bought their car insurance from door to door salesmen.

The first Swinton high street branch opened in 1964.

By 2008 it had become the third largest insurance retailer in the UK, managing more than three million car, home and life insurance policies.

Swinton was the first insurance broker to advertise on television in the 1960s. Emmerdale actor John Middleton, The Flintstones and Thunderbirds character Brains featured in later campaigns.

In 2014, Britain’s Got Talent winners Attraction, a shadow theatre group, revived the company’s TV advertising after an absence of seven years, creating a new brand image.