DEADLY blue asbestos has been found dumped beside a country road in the Yorkshire Wolds, east of Malton.

The discovery of seven bin bags containing fibrous asbestos lagging was the third incident of its kind this year within a few yards of the Wintringham to West Lutton road.

In August, about ten sheets of old but intact corrugated roofing asbestos, weighing about half-a-ton was found beside the Wintringham to West Lutton road.

And in May, asbestos sheets weighing three tons were dumped only half-a-mile away beside a lane running past Haverdale House, West Lutton.

Environment Agency enforcement officers Andy Butterworth and Dave Prince fear Ryedale's isolated lanes are being used as a dumping ground by cowboy operators dodging landfill tax and other disposal costs.

Mr Prince said: "This is causing us a great deal of concern as the material involved is a health hazard and it is clearly not a one-off incident.

"Without further evidence, the waste is proving particularly difficult to trace, and removing it is a drain on local authority funds."

John Davison, head of contract services with Ryedale District Council, said works supervisor Keith Stolting identified the hazardous material when he attended the scene a week ago.

About a quarter-of-a-ton of asbestos has now been transported to a licensed disposal site at Coxhoe, County Durham - at the expense of council taxpayers in Ryedale.

The bags were found a short distance from the Wintringham side of a turn-off to a minor road which serves local farms and splits into tracks crossing West Heslerton Wold and East Heslerton Wold.

Mr Davison said Mr Stolting was sent to the scene of the latest find after the district council received a report of bags of rubbish left on the roadside.

"It turned out, upon investigation, to be blue asbestos - which is the worst type of asbestos."

Mr Davison said: "There's nowhere in North Yorkshire where you can dispose of it legally, so we had to go through quite an elaborate procedure to get this very dangerous asbestos removed and transport it to County Durham for disposal. Clearly, that's quite expensive."

He added that the material had probably been used previously for lagging central heating pipes or boilers.

"The implications of dumping very hazardous asbestos in a public place are obvious.

"We've had quite a bit of asbestos dumped in our area, but it's the first time we've picked up blue asbestos," Mr Davison added.

The Environment Agency is urging local residents and those involved in industry to pass on any information relating to the latest incident at West Lutton.

Anyone who has spotted suspicious-looking vehicles in the area or recently had this type of waste removed from their property can telephone Mr Butterworth or Mr Prince on 01904 692296, or ring the agency's free 24-hour emergency hotline on 0800 807060.

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