Residents of Ilkeston were left dismayed when a metal bar was unexpectedly installed in a hole in a wall outside a local NatWest branch.

The circular opening is a local landmark, having ascended Tripadvisor rankings since 2018 and becoming an unlikely top-rated tourist attraction due to a deluge of satirical, glowing reviews. The feature was originally created during a mid-1990s refurbishment to allow ATM users to see if anyone was lurking behind the wall.

Images circulated on social media revealing that the bar had been screwed across the beloved landmark – prompting an immediate backlash. Locals expressed confusion and frustration, with resident Maggie Taylor describing the alteration as “awful” and noting the community was “up in arms”. Other residents branded the move “completely and utterly stupid”, lamenting the change to a feature that children and locals had enjoyed for years, the BBC reports.

The bank responded swiftly and removed the bar. A NatWest spokesperson emphasised “customer and community feedback is very important to us”, though they did not immediately clarify the reasoning behind the installation. Residents expressed relief, with one local noting that the town could now “go back to normal”.

Erewash MP Adam Thompson said: “While I’m glad the bar through the middle of the hole has now been removed, a lot of people still have questions. I’ll be writing to NatWest to ask why this happened, and I hope we can keep the hole alive – weird and wonderful as it is – well into the future.”