Residents living near a former landfill site feel “like prisoners” in their own homes after regular summer fires sent ash “raining” on their houses.
Neighbours fear a “health crisis” is developing in parts of Rainham, Essex, where “stale” smells greet homeowners as they head off to work in the morning.
It is estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 cubic metres of unregulated waste was dumped at Arnold’s Field on Launders Lane more than a decade ago.
With the constant fires raging there, locals are on the brink of collapse and feel that the air quality – and their health – is only getting worse.
Christine Read, a former foster mother who moved to the area three years ago with her son, said: ‘My back garden backs onto Launders Lane, and the smoke comes across the park and into my garden.
In 2020, a massive fire raged through Arnold’s Field as firefighters attempted to put it out.
Another fire at Arnold’s Field, Essex, in 2019, near the landfill, caused suffering to locals.
“Everything has to be locked up and I’m like a prisoner.”
About 18 months ago, Ms Read discovered she had lung cancer and then suffered another tragedy when her dog was diagnosed with the same disease.
Ms Read had to put her pet down, which she said was “absolutely horrendous”. She said: “My son has felt very guilty about moving them ever since.
“I feel like I’m sitting here waiting to die.”
Last year, Havering Council was warned about the “potential risks to human health” at Arnold’s Field after a survey found evidence of carcinogens.
Christine Read says she feels ‘like a prisoner’ in her own home because of the rubbish
Havering Council was warned over 12 years ago about the “potential risks to human health”
The local authority recently published a report on the incidence of cancer in residents near the Arnold’s Field site, compared to residents of Havering or England as a whole.
There were similar rates of lung cancer, brain cancer and blood cancers (such as leukaemias) among those living near Launders Lane and in Havering as a whole, although the data analysed only went up to 2020.
Residents near the site have complained of sore throats and runny noses due to the dumping site, while a smaller health survey of residents showed 94 percent are experiencing these symptoms.
Pauline Claridge, 70, who lives in Eastwood Drive, a mile from Launders Lane, said she is “fed up”. She said: “These last three weeks have brought me to tears because it is just unbearable.
“It’s hot, you have to close the windows and rely on a fan to keep cool, the smell is stale, it’s absolutely horrible.”
Ms Claridge, who lives with COPD, a group of lung diseases that cause breathing difficulties, says her doctor has recently increased her medication to stop her having to “continually call an ambulance”.
“(Air pollution) hasn’t caused my COPD, but it’s not helping me at all,” Pauline said. “It’s making it worse. Living here is shortening my life.”
“I’m very tearful and fed up all the time. I don’t enjoy my own home anymore.”
Steaming garbage coming out of the landfill, causing an unbearable stench for locals
Some residents have compared their experience to “living in a Chernobyl disaster zone.”
Meanwhile, Catherine Newton, administrator of the Facebook group Launders Lane Crisis, said: “People are fed up and very, very angry. You can’t blame them.”
“It’s like living in an area affected by the radiation from Chernobyl.”
Councillor Gillian Ford, deputy leader of the council, said: “We fully understand and sympathise with residents’ concerns.
‘We continue to press the owner to take more urgent action and recently facilitated a meeting between the owner, London Fire Brigade and other experts along with a resident representative to explore what short and medium term measures could be implemented to reduce the occurrence/impact of fires.’
The council previously said a nuisance abatement notice and a community protection warning had been served on Arnold’s Field owner DMC (Essex) Limited.
But the company has appealed against the curtailment notice and the authority said it is awaiting a date for this to be heard in court.
DMC (Essex) Limited co-owner Jerry O’Donovan told the LDRS last year that his company takes its responsibilities “very seriously” and said it has been “in dialogue” with Havering Council for a number of years.
