AN underpass in Blackburn town centre - where confidential paperwork belonging to a leading children's charity was found - is barely recognisable after a clean-up.

Barnado's retail volunteer registrations forms were discovered by the Lancashire Telegraph in an alley, off Railway Road.

Names, addresses, mobile phone numbers and e-mail addresses had been filled in on the forms.

And ex-staff spoke of their 'shock' after the documents were found scattered among piles of leaves along the underpass, which leads to the basement of Newspaper House.

Fly-tipping had also been left beside waste and recycling bins, along with some empty canisters of nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas.

But after the Lancashire Telegraph found the paperwork, the lane was quickly cleared by Blackburn with Darwen Council staff.

College prospectuses, said to belong to Bootstrap, which has an office on Railway Road, were also removed by the company.

An investigation has been launched by Barnado's into the potential data breach.

Charity bosses have also been making efforts to retrieve the outstanding forms.

Town hall chiefs are also investigating the possibility, in consultation with the new owners of Newspaper House, of erecting a gate to restrict access to the underpass.