HUNDREDS of letters containing personal details which could be misused by identity thieves were found dumped at the side of a Gwent road.

Friends Nicola Reynolds and Arlene Tucker made the shocking discovery while walking alongside the A4048 in Markham yesterday morning.

They saw around 200 letters, tied up in bundles, strewn over the grass verge and in hedges by the side of the busy road.

The unopened letters were adressed to residents in Blackwood, Pontllanfraith and surrounding areas.

They included bank statements, utility bills, and child tax credit letters, many of which would contain sensitive personal information such as account numbers, names and dates of birth of children, and National Insurance Numbers.

Mrs Reynolds, a 23-year-old mother of two from Bryn Road, said: "We were more than surprised, and a little annoyed. You wouldn't want all that personal information to get into the wrong hands.

"I don't know if they were stolen, but looked as if they had been dumped."

Mum of two Ms Tucker, 33, added: "I was annoyed because they could easily have been my letters."

A Royal Mail spokesman said the mail was located and recovered last night.

He added: "We will examine them to help identify their condition and why they should be found at that location.

"We will then arrange to deliver the mail without further delay, and a full investigation will follow."

"Royal Mail takes such incidents, and the security of mail as a whole, very seriously, and we are very sorry for the delay to the items concerned."