A BANK worker secretly passed on confidential information about customers as part of a £1m bank fraud.

But Shana Campbell, aged 23, who worked for the Halifax in Bexleyheath, claims she was forced into revealing the details because she was frightened.

Campbell, of Finland Road, Brockley, is one of five people on trial at Southwark Crown Court accused of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to launder money between October 2004 and October last year.

They all deny the charges.

Jurors were read a transcript of Campbell's bank disciplinary hearing, during which she claimed she had been followed for several weeks.

She claimed she had been approached by an organised crime boss to provide the information and had been frightened into agreeing.

Campbell told the hearing: "He knew what I did, where I worked and where I lived.

"I think he has been following me home for the past couple of months."

The transcript went on: "He has been watching me.

"He came up to me and told me he wanted information from various accounts of customers.

"I was scared. He even came into the branch at one time."

Campbell claimed at the hearing she had told a manager at the branch about the approach but nothing had been done.

However, she admitted she had not followed up the complaint or reported the incident to police.

Campbell told her bosses she knew she had "let Halifax down" but claimed the company had also failed her.

She was subsequently suspended from her job for breaking data protection rules.

The court heard Campbell hacked into the accounts and supplied bank details, names and addresses of 13 wealthy clients - netting the gang £785,712.

Another bank employee, Emmanuel Imbrah, aged 21, from Reading, who worked for HSBC in Surrey, allegedly provided the gang with £549,726 by supplying similar details.

Also charged are Steven Fabian, aged 44, from Kennington; Dominic Almond, aged 39, from Slough and Ayodeyi Osibogun, aged 30, from Brixton Hill.

Oluwasegun Adekunle, aged 27, from Lambeth, has admitted his role in the fraud.

Neil Kynock, aged 38, from Windsor, has admitted laundering some of the money through his motor business.

The trial continues.