Confidential files found at derelict Exeter police station

Police said security measures had been strengthened at the site

An investigation has been launched after people gained entry to an abandoned police station and found and filmed confidential coroner's files.

The highly confidential documents included medical details and photographs of a number of people who died in an accident.

Footage of people inside the old Heavitree Road Police Station in Exeter has been posted on the internet.

Police said security measures had been strengthened at the site.

Devon and Cornwall Police said officers arrested a man in his 50s, from the Wiltshire area, on Thursday on suspicion of burglary, abstracting electricity, improper use of public electronic communications and unlawful obtaining and disclosure of personal data.

He has been released on police bail while inquiries continue.

The police station has been closed since April 2020 and the adjoining Exeter Magistrate's Court is also derelict.

Due to the content of the videos, Devon and Cornwall Police has made a referral to the Information Commissioner's Office and said it would fully support its inquiries.

The force said: "The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has taken action to re-secure the former Heavitree Road Police Station site and strengthen security measures."