Confidential council papers found dumped in car park

Hundreds of confidential council documents containing personal details, medical history and bank details were found dumped on a Wolverhampton car park.

The lorry-load of documents, most of which had not been shredded, were found blowing around an industrial estate after being dumped.

Workers reported the fly-tipping to the city council at 9am yesterday. The documents, discovered by workers at Reelprint, on Ettingshall's Spring Road industrial estate, had not been collected by 4pm yesterday.

The Information Commissioner's Office today launched a probe into whether there has been a breach of the Data Protection Act and council chief executive Simon Warren ordered a full investigation.

Private documents in the paper mountain, most of which relates to the council's leisure services department, include:

* Claims for payment made by casual employees including bank details, addresses, phone numbers, details of sick days and meetings;

* Employment history files including CVs, addresses and letters marked 'private and confidential' sent to staff members;

* Gym membership applications including some from children containing medical details, photographs, addresses and mobile phone numbers;

* Bank giro credits dating back to 1998 containing Aldersley Stadium's bank account details;

* Internal memos between staff members discussing the running of council-run leisure centres

Wolverhampton City Council bosses today said the documents had been thrown into a skip, which was stolen by metal thieves from behind locked gates outside Graiseley Healthy Living Centre.

Council protection manager Andy Hall said: "The waste which was fly-tipped was recovered by environmental enforcement officers yesterday afternoon and has now been properly disposed of."

Reelprint managing director Jason Wilkes, aged 35, today said he was shocked at the level of details dumped on his firm's doorstep. He said:"The fact is it should all have been shredded, never mind dumped on the street."