THE council sent reports containing details about a domestic abuse incident and a cancer patient to the wrong person in a major data breach.

Details of the family involved in the domestic abuse case, which contained the personal details of children, were sent out by Bracknell Forest Council (BFC) in late 2017.

The recipient, who knew the family involved in the abuse investigation and is from Bracknell, told the News: “I was quite shocked.

“If I have received information about other people, who’s to say other people have not received information about me?”

According to the recipient, who asked not to be named, one of the reports was an ambulance report which contained information about a patient suffering from cancer along with their name, date of birth and address.

The police report contained the names, dates of birth and address for seven people.

The resident alerted BFC to the breach, asking for advice on what they should do with the extra paperwork.

They claim the social workers contacted were “panicked” upon being told of the leak, and asked the recipient not to share the information with anyone else.

A council employee then visited her property and took back the leaked information, before claiming an investigation into how this happened would follow.

Nikki Edwards, Executive Director: People at BFC, said: “Bracknell Forest Council is aware of a historic data breach (December 2017) and would like to assure residents that a full investigation took place at the time and appropriate action was taken.

“We can confirm that the breach was reported within 24 hours, as per our protocol. We take our data protection responsibilities seriously and act promptly whenever a breach is reported.”

Last year The News revealed Wokingham Borough Council sent confidential information about a sexual abuse survivor to her attacker in a major data breach.