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A building society has warned its staff to be vigilant after admitting to losing their personal details, according to reports.

Leeds Building Society has apparently issued a statement to its 1,000-strong workforce informing them the sensitive data was mislaid when the company's human resources department was moved during a refurbishment of its head office.

Extracts of the statement quoted in the press reveal the missing data relates to information contained on the payslips of the company's workers, with bank and salary details believed to be among the lost records.

However the building society, which is based in central Leeds, has apparently assured staff of its belief the details are still in the building.

"The missing information is not sufficient in itself to allow an unauthorised person to access a building society or bank account but we ask that you are vigilant in regard to the account into which your salary is paid," the Leeds Building Society statement to workers said, according to extracts reported by the Press Association.

News of the apparent data loss comes amid growing concern about the security of personal information held by various companies and organisations.

In a separate development today, the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) in Northern Ireland confirmed the personal details of just over 6,000 motorists had been lost after information sent to the organisation's headquarters in Swansea went missing in transit.

The latest incidents of data loss come after it emerged last month that HM Revenue and Customs had mislaid two computer discs containing the personal details of 25 million people.

The missing discs contained sensitive information about all child benefit claimants, including details such as bank account numbers and national insurance data.