A father has told how he faced financial ruin when fraudsters ran up thousands of pounds of debt after stealing his identification.

Eric Tizzard's personal details were repeatedly used by criminals for eight years after blunders by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The 39-year-old fears the loss of the national child benefit database has put him at risk again.

Mr Tizzard, of Lavender Close, Eastbourne, said: "It was four years before I realised my identity had been stolen.

"The debts meant I almost lost my wife and the stress meant I almost lost my job. It is unbelievable to think the Government put me and my family at such a risk."

Mr Tizzard first fell victim to fraud in 1998 when two tax rebate cheques worth £801 were sent to a Brighton address where he had never lived.

When he inquired into the whereabouts of his money he was sent photocopies of the cheques showing they had been cashed.

The matter was resolved over the next few months when the rebate was paid through his wages.

But in 2002 he was contacted by a debt collection agency demanding £1,300 from a Barclaycard account.

The account had been fraudulently opened in his name and was registered at the Brighton address.

Months later another agency demanded £700 owed on an overdrawn bank account.

Last year a third agency began sending Mr Tizzard and his wife Helen menacing text messages about a £325 debt run up in his name.

The collection agency only stopped texting him when he contacted the police, who considered issuing harassment charges.

He said: "My marriage was breaking down because my wife couldn't believe I hadn't run up these debts.

"I was fearful people were going to knock on my door and take my possessions, which I had worked hard for."

Earlier this year Mr Tizzard, a security officer, was asked by his new boss to provide an official disclosure of his employment history.

The HMRC document revealed the person who stole his identity in Brighton had taken three jobs under his name.

When he demanded the records be corrected, the HMRC sent the amended document containing his personal details to a woman in Southampton.

She contacted Mr Tizzard and forwarded the documents to him.

After he contacted Eastbourne MP Nigel Waterson, the HMRC sent him a letter of apology and a cheque for £40 as a goodwill gesture.

Now Mr Tizzard has now learned that his details, along with those of his seven-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter, were on the HMRC child benefit database disks which have gone missing.

He said: "Fraudsters won't touch your bank account. They will just set up new accounts in your name."

An HMRC spokeswoman said: "HMRC take the security of customer information very seriously and our priority is to protect the data of all our customers.

"If problems do occur we make every effort to put the situation right as soon as we can."

Have you had a similar experience? Tell us below