Jacey Birch, 10, Alicia Birch, six, and Matthew Judge, 10, in the alley

by Nicola Jordan

Children have been playing in an alley for the last three months where dangerous asbestos has been dumped.

Angry parents living in Beresford Road, Gillingham, have pleaded with Medway Council on numerous occasions to remove the hazardous material.

But they claim nobody has come to inspect the corrugated roofing asbestos containing asbestos dust, which has been flying around in the recent high winds.

Mum Theresa Hinds was first alerted when her six-year-old daughter Alicia brought in a piece from the alley next to their home.

She said: "At first I did not know how dangerous it was. Now I do, I think it’s irresponsible that nothing has been done about it. At the very least they should have closed the alley off so the kids can’t get in."

It was her neighbour Aaron Eldridge, a builder, who identified the substance.

His partner Melanie Judge, whose 10-year-old son Matthew also plays in the alley, said: "Aaron had just been on a course for his work and he knew what it was immediately.

"I have called the council at least four times and nobody has been up here.

"It’s absolutely disgusting. The alley is closed off at the back, so it’s relatively safe for kids. To them it just looks like something they could use as a ramp.

"There’s is really nowhere else for them to go and it’s hard to be on their case and watch where they are all the time."

A council spokesman said: "The householder made a complaint about this waste at the end of March and details were passed to a contractor for removal.

"Unfortunately this did not happen and we would like to apologise for the fact that our contractor did not pick up the waste.

"When the council was informed over the weekend that this waste had not been picked up, we immediately sent someone to remove it.

"We are now checking to see if there is any evidence whatsoever that could help the council discover who fly-tipped this as if we can trace the culprit, we will take criminal action against them."