CHILDREN playing near a bonfire found highly confidential council documents scattered across waste ground.

And today Blackburn Council's chief executive Gerald Davies promised to launch an inquiry into how private papers came to be lying in the open.

The papers, which include personal details about individual members of the public, were discovered on ground off East Street, Feniscowles.

Councillor Don Rishton whose name was on some of the papers said he was "amazed and astounded" by the discovery.

The documents include internal Labour Party memos, confidential details about individual rent arrears, minutes from private Labour group meetings and details of council houses rented out to people with special needs.

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph was handed some of the papers, which are dated within the last three months, and we are passing them to the council to help with the inquiry. Builder Graham Rostron, who lives in East Street, said: "I have been giving the local kids any old wood I have left over for their bonfire.

"When I got back from work the other night the kids told me they had found all these important looking papers lying on the ground."

He added: "The papers had been left lying everywhere and the kids collected them all up and put them in the middle of the bonfire under some wood. Nobody has a clue where they came from."

Councillor Rishton, who lives in the area, said: "I am astonished and astounded. I don't have a clue how the papers got to be there.

"I just don't understand how the papers came to be left lying around, they usually go straight in the bin when I have finished with them.

"You can be sure that anything of a private and confidential nature will be got rid of much more carefully in the future." Papers addressed to Darwen councillor and housing chairman Sue Reid were also discovered. She said: "Anything of a confidential nature I destroy before putting in the bin and I have no idea how these papers found their way to the bonfire when I do not even live in the area."

Mr Davies said: "It is extremely regrettable that this confidential waste has been found.

"The council has clear arrangements for the disposal of confidential waste. Naturally any system for such disposal depends upon individuals observing the system for it to operate properly. We are investigating the matter to see if we need to revise our arrangements."

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