A NORTHWICH man says he found confidential police files which identify sex offenders dumped on a rubbish tip.

Mike Cleverley, 37, made the discovery of 30 important police files and equipment - including handcuffs - while he was getting rid of trash.

Mr Cleverley, of Victoria Road, says he was shocked at the ease in which he walked away with an armful of the files, which included details of a sex offender based in Manchester.

He said: 'I was getting rid of some rubbish at a tip in Middlewich when I spotted the official police emblem, sticking out of a cardboard file.

'I opened it up and there was another one. There were 30 files.

'One had information about a guy in Manchester who had been arrested for paedophilia. A lot were to do with illegal DVD copies.

'There was also paperwork referencing indecent assault on children and other sexual offences, drug abuse and about foreign citizens.

'I asked the man at the tip if I could take the files and he said 'sure'.'

Mr Cleverley took the files home, then called police the next day. Within 20 minutes an officer had arrived at his door to take them away.

'I looked up the Chief Constable's number and went through to his secretary,' said Mr Cleverley. 'Within moments I was talking to the Chief Constable himself. An officer from Winsford then turned up.'

He added: 'I think someone has thrown the files out after a clear-out, I don't think it was an accident.

'If the family of someone who had been sexually abused had got their hands on those files, I dread to think what might have happened.'

Cheshire police last night confirmed they had collected files belonging to FACT, the Federation Against Copyright Theft, but said they did not belong to the constabulary.

Sensitive files 'not ours' says constabulary >>>

Sensitive files 'not ours' says constabulary

A MAN who claims he found confidential police files on a rubbish tip says officers were round to pick them up within minutes - yet he had to wait all day for a call after he suffered a break-in.

Mike Cleverley, of Victoria Road, Northwich, says he found about 30 files, of which Cheshire police have denied ownership, and equipment including handcuffs at the dump off Croxton Lane in Middlewich.

Mr Cleverley claims the files, which he took home before handing over to police, contained information including details about a sex offender based in Manchester.

Other files, he claims, referenced offences including sexual assault on children, drug abuse and others relating to illegal immigrants. He says a lot of the files mentioned illegal DVD copies, while others appeared to be training exercises.

Mr Cleverley, who came across the files after spotting the police emblem poking out of a cardboard file, said: 'I phoned the Chief Constable's office and got through to his secretary. I told her what I had found and she put me through to the Chief Constable himself.

'Within 20 minutes a police officer had arrived from Winsford to pick up the files. They were very quick - but if you report your house being broken into or criminal damage, they are never round so fast.'

A spokeswoman for Cheshire Constabulary said: 'These are not Cheshire police files.

'An officer was investigating them who is currently on holiday, but he found they were files of evidence relating to the Federation Against Copywrite Theft (FACT).

'From his report, he was going to contact a company in Middlesex over them.'

Mr Cleverley found the files last year and handed them back to police the next day. But it is only now he has decided to make his find public.

Mr Cleverley said his decision was influenced by recent dealings with the police, when he was unhappy with officer response times, particularly in light of the speed in which the police picked up the files he found.

'My shed was broken into and I called up the police but they wouldn't send anyone out,' he said. 'I demanded someone come out because it was obvious there were fingerprint marks which they could have got, but they never bothered with. I called them at 8am and it was gone 4pm before anyone came out.

'I saw a car being vandalised near my house, but it was the same thing all over again.'

He added: 'I have ummed and aahed over what to do with the knowledge of what I found for some time, but now I feel I should make it public.

'What I found was ridiculous and I dread to think what might have happened if they had got into the wrong hands.'

The police spokeswoman responded: 'As regards to the shed break-in, we would not deploy an officer.

'It is our policy not to send out an officer when it is not going to make a difference. We would send out an officer if someone's house was being broken into or to any emergency situation.'