Data protection watchdogs have unearthed a wealth of confidential information about business clients dumped in bins in a Midland town centre.

Mike Bull, of ScamsDirect, is passing the documents on to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), and the claims his investigation – carried out at random industrial bins in Walsall – shows breaches of the Data Protection Act among commercial organisations are routine and widespread.

He said the findings of the organisation – which is a consumer rights website –are just the tip of the iceberg.

Mr Bull and his team carried out the searches after a fraudster tip–off claiming company bins were a goldmine for criminals. Information they claim to have found in Walsall town centre include a copy of a will and detailed personal information on bank customers.

Mr Bull admitted trespassing on to private company land to search the repositories.

"I went along and dipped into as many bins in the centre of Walsall," said Mr Bull.  "We admit we were trespassing - but our informant told us she would be quite happy to trespass, and so would anyone who wanted information like this.

"The point we were making was that if we went round the city and picked streets at random, that's what we would find. It is just the tip of the iceberg."

ScamsDirect claim findings Inside bins used by Enoch Evans solicitors at St Paul's Chambers on Hatherton Road, Walsall, included the following:

* The will of a man in his 80s listing up to a dozen beneficiaries receiving sums of up to #50,000 each, along with his name and address.

* A complete 20–page shareholders agreement relating to Celltex Fabrications Limited

* Private subject details for a new client – including name, address and date of birth – and details of the criminal charge made against him.

* A complete copy of the lease between landlord NatWest Bank and a Sutton menswear shop, including the name and address and signature of the guarantor.

At HSBC on Bridge Street, among other documents, the organisation said a letter was found with an astonishing amount of detail on one client.

It included the customer's name, address, account number, date of birth, work telephone number, plus employer, salary and information on how long she had been a customer, balance and types of accounts held.

A spokesman for Enoch Evans stressed that their bins were stored on private land. He declined to comment further. A spokeswoman for HSBC said all confidential waste was disposed of in secure bins which were then collected from inside the branch.

But she added: "With 1,500 branches, and eight million current account customers, across the bank's network, it is possible that errors may occur. In these cases, the bank ensures that the customer's accounts are secure and that necessary steps are taken to ensure similar incidents to not occur at the branch in question."

Suzanne Morris, who stole financial information from bins for eight years to feed a drug addiction, said account names and numbers could be used for shopping by telephone.

A spokeswoman from the Information Commissioner's Office said they would be looking into the matter.