Blackpool rape victim's details found in street
Lancashire Police have begun an internal inquiry after a confidential file containing a teenage rape victim's details was found in the street.
The police document was found by a man walking his dog in Blackpool, Lancashire, on Saturday.
It is understood to have contained the girl's photograph, her age, address, phone numbers and school.
Insp David Old, of Blackpool Police, said he was keeping an open mind on how it got into the hands of the public.
The file was also said to have referred to the sexual assault suffered by the teenager, who had been reported missing to the police, and the name of the alleged attacker.
The man said he found the document on Lancashire Constabulary-headed notepaper in the north of the resort.
He later brought it to the attention of his local newspaper.
Insp Old, who is operations manager for central Blackpool, said: "I have commenced an internal inquiry to establish how these documents have come into the public domain but until I have got further on with the inquiry I am keeping an open mind as to how the paperwork has fallen into the hands of the public.
"It's likely there will be a look at procedures and if there is a lesson to be learnt procedurally from this, we will."
A spokeswoman for the Information Commissioner's Office said: "We will be making inquiries into the circumstances of the alleged breach of the Data Protection Act before deciding what action, if any, needs to be taken."