IT'S miles from Wales and doesn't appear to be inundated with Welsh speakers.

But a bank in Chandler's Ford is keeping a welcome in the hillside for ex-patriots from the Principality - although no one seems to know why.

A sign on the counter of HSBC's Chandler's Ford branch in The Central Precinct, informing customers of how and when transactions will be processed, features both English text ... and a Welsh translation.

But when the Daily Echo tried to get to the bottom of the bilingual sign, a bank spokesman admitted: "I can't think of any reason why."

Tongue in cheek, we pointed out that the borough of Eastleigh had just elected a mayor who originally hailed from Merthyr Tydfil, and asked if that might be the reason for the outpouring of Welsh nationalism.

The bank's head office spokesman mused: "In our Welsh and border branches everything is bilingual, because we have a policy of bilingual signs.

"They (the Chandler's Ford branch) must have received a bilingual sign by mistake - or perhaps we were short in the stationery department and that was the only one we had left. I just don't know why."

But as far as Eastleigh first citizen Councillor Glynn Davies-Dear is concerned, it's a great coup.

When told about the Welsh language sign at the bank, the mayor commented: "Good for them.

"There has been discrimination against us as a minority people for too long.

"Now they are realising how important we Welsh are."

He added: "I might consider moving my account to them now."