Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning director who publicly resigned from the Church of Scientology in 2009, has claimed that private detectives are examining his rubbish bins to find information that might discredit him.

The claim, in an interview with the New York Post, comes months after Haggis told The New Yorker: "I was in a cult for 34 years. Everyone else could see it. I don't know why I couldn't."

In the title's exposé, he also claimed that "you're going to read something about me in a scandal that looks like it has nothing to do with the church."

While that hasn't transpired, Haggis now says: "There are private eyes going through my trash. But only the paper is missing. Well, only paper I write on... They're in it for the long haul."

A spokesman for the Church took issue with his new claims, describing them as "ridiculous".