Top secret military documents marked 'sensitive' found dumped on residential Newcastle street
28 March 2025, 13:35
A trove of classified military documents have been found on a residential street in Newcastle.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The Ministry of Defence is now investigating the papers, some of which are marked “official – sensitive”.
They were spotted spilling out of a black bin bag in the Scotswood area of Newcastle on March 16.
The papers reportedly include details about soldiers’ ranks, shift rotas, email addresses, weapon records and access information for military sites, according to the BBC.
The documents are seemingly linked to units based at Catterick Garrison, it has been claimed.
Read more: Gang leader sentenced for £4m racket making fake medicine in garden sheds to sell on dark web
They included a sheet allegedly headed “armoury keys and hold IDS codes”.
They are thought to refer to an armoury and intruder detection system.
Mike Gibbard, a football fan from Gateshead, made the find while parking his car before attending Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup final tie with Liverpool.
“I peered down and started to see names on bits of papers, and numbers, and I thought ‘what’s that?” he told the BBC.
“They were piled up against a wall, in a black bag, in the road, underneath cars – spread all the way up the road,” he added.
Downing Street said "appropriate action" would be taken following their discovery.
A Number 10 spokesman said: "The Ministry of Defence is currently looking at documents handed to the police, but the matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Army.
"As you will appreciate, I won't be able to comment on any specifics while that takes place, but you can expect that appropriate action will be taken in response to any potential information breach.
"It's obviously important that that investigation is allowed to take its course."
