More than 2,000 motorists had private info exposed by DVLA after driving licences and passports were sent to the WRONG addresses

MORE than 2,000 drivers had confidential details exposed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency after important documents were sent to the wrong addresses.

The DVLA reported 439 data breaches over a 10-month period, according to a BBC Freedom of Information investigation.

Motorists' private information was allegedly exposed when the Government agency sent documents including driving licences, passports and marriage certificates to the wrong addresses.

The investigation found some 2,018 people were affected by the breach between May 25, 2018 and March 18 this year.

That's equivalent to almost seven drivers having confidential details revealed every day.

According to the DVLA, the breaches were the result of "human error" by staff in their Swansea headquarters.

Drivers are often required to send identifying documents to the DVLA if they are applying for a new licence, or need details such as their name changed.

Royal Mail recommends any documents such as passports or birth/marriage certificates be sent via tracked special delivery.

A DVLA spokesperson said: “Last year, we dealt with more than one billion customer interactions.

"We received more than 16million items of mail and sent out more than 93million, including 10.6million driving licences.

“However, we take our duties to protect data extremely seriously and have an open and transparent culture where staff report any potential breaches.

“We ensure we review all reports to identify what more can be done.

"While these figures are a very small percentage of our overall transaction volumes, we take these seriously and have apologised to those concerned.”