Asbestos Discovered by Volunteers in Town Centre Nature Reserve

12.02.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 10th Apr 2008

A group of Lib Dem councillors taking part in a regular weekend work-party in a town centre nature reserve discovered large quantities of fly-tipped asbestos. The illegally dumped asbestos boards, the remains of a demolished out-building, is now being removed from the River Len Nature Reserve by a specialist cleansing team from Maidstone Borough Council. The asbestos rubble was found between the river and the rear gardens of properties in Square Hill Road, Maidstone.

Maidstone Council Cabinet Member for Environment Tony Harwood, who led the voluntary conservation activity, deplored the "reckless and criminal actions" of the fly-tippers and added "all the fly-tipping we removed from the nature reserve was horrendous, lots of broken glass, sharp shards of metal, car parts, rolls of rusty barbed-wire, CFC leaking refrigerators and other electrical goods, but the discovery of so much illegally tipped asbestos came as a real shock. Around 2,000 people a year in the UK die from mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung and abdomen triggered by exposure to asbestos fibres."

Local High Street ward councillor Denise Joy, who helped with the weekend clean-up, said "new security fencing around the fly-tipped part of the reserve should stop any further illegal dumping." She added "I'm personally saddened by the fly-tipping because so many hours of volunteer and Maidstone Council staff time has been devoted to creating a tranquil green space right in the heart of the County Town. I want the new nature reserve to be a place that all Maidstone's residents can be proud of."

The recently agreed Maidstone Borough Council annual budget included funding to make permanent two dedicated litter and fly-tipping enforcement posts. Cllr. Tony Harwood is discussing options for tracing the source of the fly-tipped asbestos out-building and means of prosecuting legal action.