Personal photos, letters and emails discarded in skip outside care home

A Southampton woman, the parent of a young man with sever learning difficulties who has asked not to be identified, has expressed her concern after she discovered a number of personal photographs, letters and emails from parents, carers and residents of Water Lane Care Home run by Lifeways.

The care home on Water Lane closed in 2019 and residents were moved to sister homes in the area.

The property is currently being refurbished and items left in the home have been thrown into a large skip.

While walking past the home on the afternoon of Friday, October 9, they noticed personal pictures of residents who had been living at the home, as well as letters and emails with names, email addresses and personal information.

Some of the photos were of the residents, young people living with learning disabilities, in a swimming pool, including photos of her son and his friends who resided in Water Lane.

The woman said: "I passed this skip late Friday after noon when [my daughter] noticed large laminated photographs of my son along with other clients, a lot of these where in a swimming pool.

"We had a quick look through the skip to find printed emails from a client's parents. Along with other paperwork."

She added: "Should a skip with such content be left for so long out side for the public to go through? This surely must break some kind of data protection act.

"[Water Lane] could not even protect personal images of my son and his friends."

Lifeways explained that they had organised for all personal information to be "securely" stored or destroyed. They added that they will be taking "urgent steps" to investigate the incident.

A spokesperson for Lifeways said: “Our house at Water Lane closed in 2019, and all the people who lived there were supported to move to new homes.

"We organised for all personal information and effects to be securely stored, or securely destroyed, as appropriate.

"The property is currently being refurbished by a firm of contractors and it has been drawn to our attention that some further items have come to light that have not been properly disposed of. We have today taken urgent steps to ensure that any remaining items and documentation are safely secured.

"We take very seriously our obligations regarding data protection and we are investigating what has happened and will take all the necessary steps as a result.”