Fly-tippers dump one-and-a-half tonnes of asbestos in Fareham lane

Hazardous waste removal technicians spent four hours yesterday removing the 60 cement-bonded roofing sheets that contained the dangerous material.

The dump occurred on Tanners Lane, which connects Stubbington and Bridgemary, and is within walking distance of Woodcot primary school.

Jim Gildea, of Rubbish Clearance and Waste Removal Ltd., said: ‘It was very out of the ordinary – it was a lot of asbestos.

‘Asbestos like that is extremely hazardous to your health – it can cause death.

‘There’s a lot of good companies out there doing the right thing when it comes to disposal, but some people are very selfish.’

The roofing – identified as coming from several garages or industrial sheds – was tagged as unsafe using stickers more than a week ago, with the operational managers of the site, Lightsource BP, processing the paperwork to have the material safely removed.

The leader of Fareham Borough Council, Sean Woodward, said: ‘We have a zero tolerance attitude towards fly-tipping.

'We have not seen an increase in fly-tipping recently, but we will always go all out to prosecute the perpetrator.

‘If any one sees anything, they should report it – we have a good record of prosecuting fly tippers.’

The safe removal of the rubbish required the technicians to vacuum-clean the lane using a hazard vacuum – to ensure any and all traces of the asbestos were removed. Inhaling or breathing in asbestos dust can lead to serious inhalation problems, including lung cancer.

Mr Gildea said: ‘A lot of people don’t realise how easy it is to walk through a site and get traces of asbestos on their shoes.

‘They can then walk it into their homes.

‘We had several dog walkers and cyclists trying to use the lane while we were working.’

In 20017/18, there more than 79,307 fly-tipping incidents across the south east, including more than 900 in Fareham.