REDDITCH Council has made thousands of pounds selling on resident's private details from the electoral register, we can reveal.

A list of credit referencing agencies, a university and parish council clerks are some of the bodies handed people’s details between 2011 and 2016.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed how the council has earned £5,414.50 by selling the register in just five years.

Pressure group Big Brother Watch has hit out at the findings, saying the practice can leave people "swamped by junk mail".

By Government law, councils are obliged to pass on the electoral register to third parties, although they must pay set fees in order to obtain it.

After years of controversy, in 2001 the High Court ruled that householders must have the right to be omitted from one version of the register available to the likes of companies, but around 50 per cent of people never bother.

Experian, a global information service offering free online credit score checks, was one of many credit referencing agencies to buy the register from Redditch Council, as well as Voter Consultancy ltd, a registered third party.

The University of Birmingham and several parish council clerks also wanted the details of everyone on the register in Redditch.

Campaigners say they want a tighter clampdown on the system, and are calling for the laws to be revised to stop people's details being sold on.

Daniel Nesbitt, from Big Brother Watch said "The edited electoral register is waste of everyone's time.

"It leaves residents swamped by junk mail, and councils barely raise anything from selling it on.

"It’s time it was abolished - citizens should not have to worry about where their personal information will end up when they register to vote."

Claire Felton, head of legal services for district councils in Redditch and Bromsgrove, said: "It’s not a matter for councils to decide - under the regulations set by parliament councils are required to release the open or edited register to any person, company, or organisation that pays the statutory fee."