PATIENTS at the Royal Bolton Hospital affected by the blunder which led to their medical records being sold to an estate agent in Crewe have been informed about the security breach.

Health chiefs have contacted the patients, or their next of kin, where appropriate, and have promised to keep those involved informed of the progress of the inquiry.

Heading the investigation is Graham Fullaton, the Royal Bolton Hospital's data protection manager.

He has been analysing the data contained on the memory card that was bought for £30 from a computer supplier in Crewe by estate agent Dawn Rozzell, aged 31.

When she loaded it on to her computer she found it contained the details of 13 cancer sufferers, their dates of birth, home addresses, telephone numbers, family medical histories and GP details. Mr Fullaton is determined to find out how the breach of security took place and how the information ended up on a memory stick. He said: "The Hospital's Trust does not use such sticks itself. We have explained the situation to the patients involved and offered to keep them informed of our progress."

" We have assured them that we are taking the matter very seriously and are pleased to say they have been very understanding."

He added: "The matter is of great concern to us and is being investigated as a matter of urgency."

The are trying to establish how the records were copied from a hospital computer onto a portable memory stick and how they then ended up being sold by a supplier in Crewe to Miss Rozzell.

The Bolton Evening News has established the stick was made by Optronix, a UK company with a factory in China. The component was assembled in China before being flown to the firm's warehouse in Newcastle-under-Lyne, in Cheshire.

It was sold by Optronix direct to MBS, a computer supplier based in Crewe which then sold the stick to Miss Rozzell.

Malcolm Roach, managing director of Optronix and its parent company Mitek, said: "We have no records of this component ever having been returned to us once it had been sold.

"It was a brand new, clean memory stick when it was sold to a reputable dealer."

There was no-one available to comment from MBS.