The Borehamwood and Elstree Times has found hundreds of confidential documents among a pile of rubbish dumped in a green space.

Yesterday this paper reported that refuse from a bath, door keys, floor boards and carpet cuttings have been abandoned at the back entrance of Scratchwood Open Space in Barnet Lane.

The area lies on the cusp of the Borehamwood and Barnet borders.

Today it has emerged that files containing payslips, contracts, Inland Revenue tax forms, phone bills, pension slips and invoices are amid the mess.

Left with the rain-sodden documents are around 20 cardboard panels advertising SGM Securities, featuring phone numbers for their London and Luton sites.

But when the Borehamwood & Elstree Times tried to call these numbers, both phone lines were dead.

The documents all contain personal details, including bank account details, national insurance numbers and addresses of employees.

It also contains details about employees' wages.

The numbers on the Orange UK and British Telecom phone bills, which appear to be registered to SGM, were no longer in use when the Borehamwood & Elstree Times tried to make the phone call.

Karen Warren, of Percheron Road, Borehamwood, says she was “mortified” when she realised what was really beneath all the litter.

The 54-year-old loves taking regular walks in the field, also known as the London Loop, and says she was devastated when she saw the mess.

She said: “It’s a disgrace, it is bad enough that random bits of rubbish have been dumped, but this takes it to a whole new level.

“It’s dangerous. If it gets into the hands of the wrong people then there are going to be some massive repercussions.”

Today, Colin Bowell, a priority intervention officer at Barnet Council, was at the scene to trawl through the debris and agreed it was “horrendous.”

The council is currently investigating ways to deal with the rubbish.

Because the land sits right at the border of the two boroughs, there is some confusion as to which authority owns the site.

However, the environmental health team at Hertsmere Borough Council is also investigating.