Barnet Council has promised to revise the way it disposes of confidential documents after reams of private benefits records were found near the North Circular Road.

Martyn Rutt, of Squires Lane, East Finchley, spotted 75 bits of paper containing details of overpayments to benefit claimants under a pedestrian bridge.

Mr Rutt said the papers, which were issued by Hendon's Housing Benefit Office on Babington Road, were just blowing about by the verge' last week under East Finchley's pedestrian bridge which extends from Tarling Road to the wall of Tudor Primary School.

Many of the documents had current stamps, suggesting that they are still live or recent cases, and featured dates ranging from 2002 to 2005.

Mr Rutt returned them to the Housing Benefit Office off Ballards Lane, in Finchley, last Wednesday.

"I managed to gather up most of them, but there was still a few irretrievable ones left in the bushes," he said. "When I handed them in, the receptionist phoned through to the main office in Hendon to let them know they had arrived. The person on the other end of the phone was amazed and asked, How could this be allowed to happen?' He was swearing and shouting a lot."

Barnet Council said it would now be looking at its method of transporting material so that this rare occurrence will not happen again'.

A spokesperson said: "A huge volume of paper waste totalling 45 tons, which works out at nine million pages, is currently being disposed of by the Council's Housing Benefits section.

"Unfortunately, due to a mechanical failure with the refuse vehicle, about 75 pages were lost as the vehicle made its way to the Edmonton Incinerator.

"Thanks to a vigilant member of the public, the papers have been recovered, and an extensive search has not uncovered any more pages."