PARENTS have spoken of their shock after an email that was sent to them regarding their disabled children shared their email addresses with more than 150 people.

Cornwall Council had sent out an email to parents whose children are registered as disabled, with the council offering a new max card scheme.

However the email was sent with all the names and email addresses of the 155 recipients on display.

The council issued another email to recall the initial mailout and then sent a third email apologising for the data breach and an assurance that it would not happen again.

However parents were unhappy and said the council needed to improve its systems to avoid a repeat incident.

One mum, who did not want to be identified, said: “I didn’t think anything of it at first, but almost immediately I had another email saying they wanted to recall the original message.

“I then had the third email saying that the email had been sent contrary to data protection regulations. They said they were giving sincere apologies and promised it wouldn’t happen again.

“I rarely get emails from the council but when this kind of thing happens it makes me reluctant to give them my information. I have no faith in the council.”

Another mum, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said: “Having a disabled child, you struggle enough with the council. You expect them to keep your personal information confidential and not share it with others.

“For myself, I am not going to do anything untoward with those email addresses, but you don’t know what others might do.

“Many families don’t want their details known and they might not be comfortable with people knowing that you have a disabled child.

“It also makes you question that if they can do this, what else might they be doing with your information. I hope that it won’t happen again and they need to make sure that their systems are tighter to prevent it happening again.”

Cornwall Council has been asked to comment.