COMPUTERS that were stolen from council buildings contained ‘extremely sensitive’ material, it can be revealed.

It is also understood data on known paedophiles in the area could be stored on the 15 laptops taken from Jubilee House, in Blackburn.

Case notes for vulnerable adults are processed at the building, in Jubilee Street, where a small number of adult social care and admin staff are based.

Staff were drafted in over the weekend following the Thursday-night raid as a major investigation got underway to find out how much information had been stored on the computers, which were password-protected but not encrypted.

Twenty four-hour security patrols have also been set up.

Council leader Mike Lee promised a review of the council’s entire computer network to ensure security was up to scratch but admitted it was akin to “shutting the door when the horse has bolted”.

He said it was too early to say how much information had been downloaded on to the computers but said he was certain it would include some sensitive material.

Some of the data that could have been downloaded are names and addresses of at least two paedophiles known to the adult social care team but council bosses say they do not yet know whether the details were stored on the computers.

Coun Lee said: “I am very concerned because of the scale of the operation. It is frustrating and we are tightening up on what people do.

“I know there will be some sensitive data on there but it is about how far that goes.”

Yesterday there were no clear signs of a break-in at the building, which has been earmarked for a major new youth centre as part of the redevelopment of Blackburn’s Cathedral Quarter.

But bosses have ruled out an inside job, and a Lancashire Police spokesman said the signs were that entry had been forced to the premises.

Some of the stolen laptops were older models which can not be encrypted - an extra security layer whereby data is stored in a way that prevents unauthorised access.

Replacing the stock will leave taxpayers with a bill of about £20,000.

Coun Maureen Bateson, the deputy leader of the opposition Labour group, said: “We are extremely concerned about this.

“The most important thing is that individual information on vulnerable adults could get into the wrong hands. We want to know what we are doing about reassuring individuals who are receiving adult social services.

“We will also want some explanation about how people reportedly got into a secure building and why these laptops appear to have not been securely stored.”

The incident is made more irritating for council bosses by the fact that Jubilee House was about to be finally vacated with staff moving to a new base on Evolution Park, Haslingden Road.

In recent years there has been criticism about delays with the move which meant the building had to be maintained while it was almost empty.