The person who bought the computer raised the alarm after paying just £35 for it from an ex-employee of archiving firm Graphic Data.

Data including account numbers, telephone numbers and answers to security questions – such as mothers' maiden names – were on the computer's hard drive.

It is also thought that customers' signatures and details of credit card applications were on the PC.

"Graphic Data has confirmed to us that one of their machines appears to have been inappropriately sold via a third party," the Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns Natwest, said in a statement.

"As a result, historical data relating to credit card applications from some of our customers and data from other banks were not removed. We take this issue extremely seriously and are working to resolve this regrettable loss with Graphic Data as a matter of urgency," the statement continued.

eBay also expressed concern in a statement.

"Clearly such details should never have been included in the hard-drive of the computer offered for sale on eBay. We will of course work with Graphic Data to establish how it came to be available for sale on our site," the statement said.

Under the Data Protection Act, banks and other organisations have an obligation to keep personal information secure.

There have been a number of high-profile data breaches brought to light since HM Revenue and Customs lost two discs with details of 25 million UK citizens on them last year.

Recently, a manager at Colchester University Hospital was sacked after a laptop containing personal details of patients was stolen from his car.

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