A CUB leader was left feeling "humiliated and afraid" after being turned away from a building society with £600 in cash. Mrs Denise Bigg, of the 18th (St Mary's) Radcliffe Cubs and Brownies, said: "I was treated like dirt and was left feeling very vulnerable."

She went to the Halifax in Blackburn Street, Radcliffe, to deposit the cash raised from a fund-raising jumble sale.

Mrs Bigg, of Claydon Drive, said: "I explained that I wanted to open an account but was told it was probably best to make an appointment. I quietly explained that I had £600 in coins in a plastic bag on me and did not want to risk carrying it back home, but they were rude and unhelpful."

Eventually Mrs Bigg asked to see the manager, who she claims was just as unhelpful.

She said: "She refused to let me open an account without an appointment and said there was nothing she could do about me carrying around so much money, which of course alerted everyone to what was in my bag. I left the building terrified that I might be mugged and amazed that the staff treat people in this way."

Fortunately for Mrs Bigg, the Alliance & Leicester Building Society was much more helpful and allowed her to open an account there and then and deposit the money.

But Mrs Bigg is still smarting from her humiliating experience and is writing a letter of complaint to the Halifax's chief executive.

She said: "They talk about the Halifax giving 'a little extra help' but that is certainly not my experience."

A spokesman for the Halifax said: "We apologise that Mrs Bigg did not get the service she expected. Opening an account is quite a time-consuming process and when she came in there were only four staff working and a queue of customers. In such circumstances we had to balance the needs of all the customers as a whole."

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