Investors opening Skipton Building Society accounts in the south will have to stump up more cash from today in a bid to ward off carpetbaggers.

Bosses at the country's seventh largest society have launched a new set of rules upping the minimum investment from £2,000 to £5,000.

But the opening balance at branches in the north will stay at £2,000.

The move follows an attempt in January by former royal butler Michael Harden to join the board of the Skipton and force a vote to change it into a bank - resulting in a one-off payment to members..

He tried the same tactic with the Yorkshire Building Society but both bids failed. Now the Skipton has decided to put off new members who only want to open an account in the hope of a successful conversion bid in the future.

From today would-be customers in the midlands and the south will have to have a minimum of £5,000 opening balance while those in the north will need the original £2,000 but will have to open the account in person and not be post.

Skipton spokesman Mark Smither-ingale said the different amounts reflected the growing problems in the midlands and the south following the recent vote to convert the Bradford and Bingley Building Society into a bank.

"We have been quoted inaccurately in the national Press as being one of the keen favourites which is the next to go," he said.

"As a result we have had people queuing outside about 20 branches in the midlands and south - from Nottingham to Plymouth - and phones have been jammed.

"Our central London branches have been handling around ten times their usual level of new account inquiries.

"We have been more busy than normal in some branches in the north, but it hasn't been so bad, possibly because there are 59 branches and they are more spread out.

"We have decided not to suspend all new account opening as we don't wish to deter genuine new customers. But the new initiative will hopefully deter people looking for a quick windfall."

Other changes at the building society's 79 branches include a ban on opening new accounts on Saturday mornings.

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