Residents fear ex-landfill site could be leaking

Paul Cawthorne said he was concerned about smells coming from the site

People living near a former rubbish dump in Herefordshire have raised concerns that groundwater could be contaminated because the ground has eroded.

Sutton Walls hillfort is a scheduled ancient monument but in the 1960s and 70s it was used to dispose of household waste and hazardous chemicals.

Herefordshire Council and the Environment Agency tested the site between 2010 and 2014 and found that much of the liquid had leached out.

Both said the remaining contamination was "not considered to represent a significant risk to human health or the environment”.

Dozens of local people attended a community meeting in Marden

However, in 2016 residents were told by the council to stop using well water for drinking, cooking or watering their gardens because tests had found it contained "volatile organic compounds".

Those living near the site have claimed the ground has since eroded and they want more extensive testing done.

Herefordshire Council was at a public meeting on Thursday to hear residents' concerns.

Tony Winch said he was "appalled" the site had not been tested and called the council "irresponsible".

"It's extraordinary that nothing has been done for nine years," he added.

Tony Winch said he was "appalled" that the site had not been tested since 2014

Reverend Paul Cawthorne has been campaigning for more testing to be done.

“I have been to numerous sites where toxic chemicals were dumped and I know what leachate smells like. I can smell it at Sutton Walls. I lose sleep over this. I just want those in authority to take responsibility.”

Charles Yarnold, head of regulation and technical services at the council, said he could understand why people were concerned.

"The evidence that we've got would not suggest we need to do any more testing but we're always happy to look at new information," he added.

"We would take action if we felt it was necessary and there was significant concern."

Charles Yarnold, from Herefordshire Council, said he understood why people were concerned

Andrew McRobb, from the Herefordshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said more work should be done to ease people's worries.

"Why not test now? If there's nothing there, then we can be reassured and move forward. Shouldn't public concern be enough to trigger more testing?"

It is believed that waste was dumped both legally and illegally on the site, which was previously managed by Monsanto and sublet to numerous other companies in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

Montsanto ceased trading in 2016.

Numerous footpaths on and around the land, which is privately-owned, are accessible to the public.