RESIDENTS of Westbury Leigh face a high risk of becoming a victim of identity theft, according to research by credit reference agency Experian.

The company published a list of the 25 most at-risk postcodes in the UK and Westbury Leigh came 15th.

It is the most at-risk postcode in Wiltshire, ahead of eight Swindon postcodes and one from Salisbury.

Ben Carey, 28, who lives near Westbury Leigh, believes someone applied for credit in his name after he had £150 taken from his bank account in the last week of May.

The Dilton Marsh resident also received occasional phone calls for more than six months asking him if he was interested in investing in initiatives abroad.

Mr Carey, who works for PR and marketing company Eventy in Bath, said: "I had been checking my bank account in Bath and quite a bit of money had been taken out.

"It was a bit scary. The bank said I was the fifth person on that day who had gone in with problems.

"Potentially it could have carried on if I had been on holiday for a couple of weeks.

"The bank looked into it straight away and I phoned the fraud helpline at Experian.

"I think people have been applying for credit in my name and there's a very strong likelihood."

Mr Carey has since had the money he believes was taken refunded by his bank.

He said: "Now I've got to go through a process of identity recovery, but it could have been far worse.

"If I lived in London I think I'd be a bit more savvy to it, but it can happen anywhere. It's quite shocking to hear Westbury Leigh is one of the worst-hit areas. I thought it was a city thing.

"I think people should be a bit more savvy. I was a bit naïve.

"I've never been very good at checking bank statements but now I'm going to be really good at checking them all."

Mr Carey said he would advise people to use a credit card rather than a debit card while internet shopping in order to minimise the possibility of ID theft.

He also advised people to get good virus protection on their computers.