Around 79,000 email addresses of people living in South Warwickshire were leaked by a member of staff last year, Stratford-on-Avon District Council has revealed.

Warwickshire Police has been investigating November's breach, which also involved residents living in Warwick district.

The investigation found the addresses were from the garden waste collection database, with no further personal data affected.

The addresses were taken by a member of staff with the purpose of "promoting a business not related to the council".

The unnamed person - who no longer works at the council - has since been issued with a caution by the police for knowingly/recklessly obtain or disclose personal data without the consent of the controller.

The council said the staff member has "sincerely apologised" and "assurances have been received from Warwickshire Police", that all the information that was taken has been deleted.

David Buckland, Chief Executive of Stratford-on-Avon District Council said: "On behalf of the vouncil I would like to apologise for this data breach.

"When the council was alerted to this, we immediately began a full investigation to understand how this happened.

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"It is important to stress that this information only contained email addresses, it did not contain any bank details, or names and addresses. 

"We have concluded through our investigations that this data breach was a deliberate act by an individual, and not a breakdown of the robust internal controls we have in place."

The matter was reported to the Information Commissioner's Office, and it has confirmed that under the circumstances they will not be taking any action against either authority.

Chris Elliott, chief executive of Warwick District Council, said: "Despite the robust procedures in place to protect resident's information, it has been very disappointing to find that an employee has acted independently for their own gain. 

"I would like to reassure our residents that this was an isolated incident, and I am satisfied that the necessary steps have been taken and the data breach is now resolved."