Glasgow City Council has lost information relating to nearly 38,000 business and individuals after a laptop holding personal data was stolen in late May.

Two laptops were stolen from Council offices sometime between Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 May. One of them contained the names and address of 37,835 council suppliers, including 17,692 companies and 20,143 individuals.

Over 16,000 records had bank accounts attached to them, with 10,382 companies and 6069 individuals’ bank account details being lost.

The council said that the laptop was password protected, but not encrypted, and that the other stolen laptop held no personal data.

"The council has informed the Information Commissioner’s Office and Strathclyde Police, and will be contacting customers’ banks, where appropriate," it said in a statement. "We will be writing directly to people affected by the data loss."

It apologised to all those affected by the breach, and said it would be conducting a full investigation of the breach.