A Poole man has received a stranger's bank statement in the post complete with account details and itemised transactions.

John Raven opened a letter from Abbey on Christmas Eve which had his full address on it. The name was not visible through the envelope window.

The IT expert expected to find some information regarding his own Abbey account, but was horrified to see enclosed the bank statement of a stranger whose name he did not recognise.

John, a former policeman, who has a degree in IT management, contacted the bank and even visited his local branch to tell themwhat had happened, but has heard nothing back.

Then, on New Year's Eve, he was sent an application for a credit card, again in the name of this mystery man.

He said: "If I have got this person's details - who's got mine? How many other people has this happened to?"

John, 52, said with his IT knowledge he could have easily used the information to steal the man's identity.

"I know where he shops, where he works, what he earns. I could become him if I wanted to," he added.

"Identity theft is a big issue at the moment. It's worrying because they hold vast amounts of information on you."

John said he has lived at his address since the 1970s and doesn't believe the man to be a former resident.

A spokesman for Abbey said: "Abbey apologies to the customers involved.

"There was a slight error in the inputting of an address. However, all has now been rectified. It is a case of human error and a one-off," the spokesman added.

She said the customer whose details were sent to Mr Raven had mistakenly confirmed the wrong address on a form sent to him after he notified the bank of a move.