Santander threatened to close woman's account after she described Bradford as 'Curryland' to call centre worker (4 Pics)

A bank customer was threatened with having her account closed because she referred to Bradford as "curryland" while on the phone to a call centre worker.

Sarah Leigh, 50, was speaking to the member of Santander staff when he mentioned he was from the city.

Mrs Leigh referred to the Yorkshire city as "curryland" and mentioned reading recent reports about how waterways had turned yellow because of the amount of tumeric washing into them.

The call centre worker did not complain at the time but days later Mrs Leigh received a letter from the bank saying she had offended him.

An underground river which flows through Bradford became stained yellow from food waste dumped by local curry houses

The letter, from a manager for the bank’s executive complaints team, has been seen by Mail Online and says: "Your call has been brought to our attention as the adviser, who was happy to help you with your inquiry, was offended by the comments made in respect of Bradford and its inhabitants.

"Santander considers great customer service a priority and we expect our staff to treat our customers with courtesy and respect at all times.

"In return we would expect our customers to afford our staff the same courtesy and sadly this was not the experience they had when you called."

Mrs Leigh told MailOnline: "I was jolted by the letter. I didn’t swear, I didn’t comment on religion or the colour of the person’s skin.

"It’s so over the top I fear for the future generation. We really are becoming a bunch of snowflakes."

Bradford has been dubbed the 'curry capital' of the UK 

Bradford has scooped the Curry Capital of Britain six times but its success as a gastronomic hotspot has sparked pollution problems

Santander threatened to close Mrs Leigh's account 

Santander told MailOnline it followed procedures where staff can report "inappropriate behaviour" to a manager.

Having reviewed the call we can confirm that Mrs Leigh asked our colleague where he is from; and when he replied ‘Bradford’, Mrs Leigh said “Oh Curry Land” and talked about the water “turning yellow”.

A spokesman said: "Our call handler was offended by comments they felt were racially inappropriate.

"We have spoken to Mrs Leigh and understand this was not her intention. We hope we can continue meeting Mrs Leigh's banking needs."

Bradford's reputation as a curry hotspot is no accident.

The city boasts 200 Asian restaurants and employs almost 100,000 in the industry.

The large Asian population of the city is down to the demand for immigrants during the Industrial Revolution when the textile industry was thriving and Bradford needed more manpower.