A BAG of supermarket receipts listing full credit card details of customers has been found dumped at a waste recycling depot.

Fears the Tesco receipts, found at the depot in Snodland, near Rochester, could have left customers open to identity fraud have been downplayed.

The receipts from stores around the country were found by a depot worker, leading the company to launch an immediate investigation. However, a spokeman for Tesco said there was no evidence to suggest any card fraud had taken place.

Due to “human error” the usual process of disposing of till receipts in confidential bags, which are then taken in secure cages to be destroyed, had not been followed.

The Tesco spokesman said that although the store was tightening its security procedures as a result of the incident, there were fewer than 20 receipts in the bag, and it would have been difficult for anyone to use the information for fraudulent purposes.

He added: “We have strict procedures to dispose of confidential waste from our stores and are confident this was an isolated incident due to human error.

“It would have been very unlikely someone could have used the details. All the customers’ cards were stopped as a precaution.”

A spokesman for the Christian Salvesen recycling depot said: “We are investigating the situation where it is alleged some waste has been removed from the site without authorisation. It is certainly not the case that confidential waste is handled inappropriately and without due care.

“However, following this incident, we will be reviewing existing procedures and, if necessary, putting further measures in place.”

A spokeswoman for Card Watch, a banking industry organisation that aims to combat card fraud, said: “The only place a criminal would have been able to use the details is over the phone or on the internet and that would be very unlikely as they would also need other details, including the card’s security code.

"I’m not saying it would be impossible, but incredibly difficult for a fraudster to use the details.”