Private customer and staff data has been found in bins outside the Oasis Leisure Centre. 

GLL staff have been clearing out the site since it announced it would not be reopening after the second national coronavirus lockdown last November. 

But now a member of the Save The Oasis campaign group says they found un-shredded documents in some of the bins at the site.

Data included customer names, emails and payment schedules for the Oasis as well as other GLL operated sites in Swindon such as the Health Hydro and Link Centre. 

It also included staff names, rotas and diaries from when the site was open.

A spokesman for the group said: "We inadvertently discovered a whole bin full of private customer data. This bin was a standard bin, it was not locked and the data was not shredded or marked confidential.

"One of our members found the data in a commercial waste bin behind the Oasis, which wasn't completely closed as it was full. There were customer names, staff names, children's names who attended swim classes, payment schedules, membership numbers and details, staff diaries, printouts of recent emails, timesheets, gym warning lists, memos and box files.

"Some of the data we found concerned customers for not only the Oasis, but the Link Centre, Health Hydro and Delta Tennis Courts. This was only the stuff at the top of the bin.

"We dread to think what else was in that bin, which was full of paperwork."

The group added no bank details were found among the documents and the information has not been passed on to anyone else.

It said: "We were pretty horrified by this find. We immediately took all the necessary steps to ensure this data was safe.

"We reported our find immediately to the head of Swindon Borough Council and also to the Information Commissioner.

"We hope the rubbish and data have now been removed from the site. We also really hope that this data breach will be investigated, as it is quite serious."

A spokesperson for GLL said it was aware of the allegations and would co-operate with any investigation.

They said: "We are aware of the allegations made over the weekend on the Save the Oasis Facebook page regarding data security at the Oasis Leisure Centre. 

"We will work with Swindon Borough Council and the Information Commissioner’s  Office to ensure that there is a full investigation and that any personal data is protected.”

A statement from the ICO added: "People have the right to expect that organisations will handle their personal information securely and responsibly.

“We are aware of a potential incident involving unsecured personal data at a leisure facility in Swindon, and we will be making enquiries.”