A FORMER bank worker left with a box of 1,600 customers' sensitive documents in her home has said she is set to contact them each individually in a bid to return them.

The 56-year-old Southampton woman, who has asked not to be named, was sacked by NatWest from her role selling mortgages in 2009 for not handing back the data.

She had the documents as she worked at home - and claims the bank refused to take them back.

That stalemate has lasted for 14 years as the woman wants a written guarantee from NatWest that it will not take legal action, which the bank refuses to do.

She told the Echo she is now on the verge of using the details in the documents to contact each customer so she can return the files herself.

READ MORE: Sacked NatWest worker has 1,600 customers' documents at home

She said: "I don't know how long it's going to take.

"I'm going to have to follow a process whereby I'm going to have to put a plan in place as to how we're going to do it.

She added: "The point is getting it away from me - but at the same time with the reassurance that I've protected myself."

It comes as the woman said she will soon visit the bank's headquarters in London to demand to speak with bosses.

The saga has been going on for so long that she is now registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner's Office - so she can legally store the documents.

Asked how long contacting each bank customer would take, the whistleblower said: "I'm dedicating as much time as I possibly can, as quickly as I can."

The woman, who went from a well-paid job to earning £35 a week when she lost her career, added: "I never thought I'd be in this position.

"It's taken years out of my life - it ruined my career.

"I never worked in banking again."

A NatWest spokesman reiterated its previous statement on the issue.

He said: “This former employee was dismissed in 2009 for gross misconduct as a result of her repeated refusal to return customer information.

"There has been no customer detriment and the bank does not believe that this historical documentation poses any risk to customers.

“The situation could have been resolved at any point in the past decade through the return of the documentation, as the former employee claimed to have done in 2012.

"Instead, she chose to retain copies of the documents and believes that she is entitled to compensation whilst also demanding an indemnity from the bank in exchange for the documents.”