FILES containing the personal details of dozens of children have been found abandoned in a disused youth centre.

Documents which include the name, address and telephone number of youngsters, along with some medical histories, were discovered at the former Westhoughton Youth Drop In Centre in Bolton Road.

The building should have been cleared of all sensitive material by last Sunday ahead of workmen moving in to empty it completely.

But earlier this week, as town councillors prepared to call in clearance teams, information on former members - which should have been under lock and key - was stacked in untidy piles throughout the building.

The discovery has provoked criticism from local councillors and the council leader, Cllr Jim Gilfillan, has informed the police.

Westhoughton councillor David Chadwick said: "I'm appalled that the information which has been found has been left out with access to anyone who cares to come and search through it.

"We will now take steps to safeguard this information and ensure it's disposed of securely and properly.

"Until that is done, no-one will be brought in to empty the building. This information should be in a secure, locked file."

The Drop In Centre was bought by Westhoughton Town Council in 1988 to provide facilities for young people in the area.

It started to run a reduced service 18 months ago and, for the last six months, has run a skeleton service. The organisation's £40,000-a-year funding was withdrawn by the town council in May.

The centre's management committee - Westhoughton councillors David Wilkinson, Janet Halliwell and Derek Gradwell - was issued with a 28-day notice last month to clear the building.

But when town council members, who hold the keys to the centre, went to inspect it last Sunday they claim there was little sign of a clear-out.

The Bolton Evening News was allowed into the building by councillors. Inside were registration and parental consent forms, which included details of regular medication taken by children, left in clear plastic folders in the kitchen.

The town council now plans to invite Bolton Council Youth Services to deal with the discarded files. The matter has been reported to the police, who advised council officials to contact the Government's Data Protection Registrar.

Cllr David WIlkinson defended the management committee's actions.

He said: "The committee has not had the keys to the centre for several months.

"We sent officers in with the town clerk last week specifically to look for files regarding children.

"They told us no such documents containing pertinent information about children were in the building. When I last went to the building a number of months ago, it was left in a reasonably tidy state.

"We had arranged to take everything out of the centre and store it, but we couldn't do anything because the keys were taken off us."

A council spokesman said: "Documentation regarding young people is confidential.

"The responsibility for protecting such information rests with the management of a project and, to protect the interests of children all records, should be disposed of by shredding before any premises is vacated."

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