MOST banks are keen to welcome new customers.

But the HSBC in Easingwold's Market Place took its open-doors policy too far. It left the bank's front door open all night.

It was only the alertness of a five-year-old boy who prevented the door being left unlocked all weekend.

Oliver Pettigrew was with his father, Daniel, who was drawing money out of the cash machine in the bank's wall on a Saturday lunchtime. He discovered the door had been left open since the evening before, and he and his father were able to walk inside.

They found computers and walkie-talkies lying around - and were even able to walk up to the main bank vault.

After alerting the police, Oliver and his dad stood guard until officers arrived.

Red-faced bank chiefs blamed a malfunction' with the catch on the door - and insisted there had been no danger of customers losing money.

Not from the main vault, maybe. Even the exceptional skills of a five-year-old were not up to cracking that.

But who knows what vital customer information could have been stored on those computers, and the hard disks in them?

The Government losing personal information about us is bad enough. We don't want banks to start doing the same. If there is one thing they are supposed to be good at, it is security.

As for Oliver - a grateful HSBC has opened an account in his name with £10 in it.

How generous of them. Let's just hope they manage to keep it safe for him.