Probe into dumped hospital waste

Emily DennisAn investigation was under way today after tonnes of hospital waste were found dumped by the side of a road.Emily Dennis

An investigation was under way today after tonnes of hospital waste were found dumped by the side of a road.

Hundreds of yellow bags of waste, which included human excrement, blood, dressings and used nappies were discovered yesterday morning in Beccles close to the town's old airfield.

The Environment Agency appealed for motorists to stay away from Hulver Road, where the waste was dumped, as a massive clear-up operation got under way.

Police cordoned off the area and a specialist waste disposal company was contacted to remove the three-and-a-half tonnes of waste to an appropriate treatment plant.

Environment Agency spokesman Marcus Sibley said: 'We want drivers to stay away from the area for obvious health and safety reasons until this terrible fly-tip has been cleared.

'Hospitals should ensure that the companies they employ to take away their waste are properly registered to do so.'

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said an investigation had been launched and that inquiries were taking place to determine the source of the waste.

'It may be one load from a hospital or collections from various ones,' she said. 'We are still looking into that at the minute. We know that it is hospital waste by the way it is bagged up.

'The waste is on the roadside and we do not want people to drive past. If anybody got near it and started looking in the bags, there could be issues with contamination.'

The spokeswoman urged anyone with information about the incident to get in touch.

'Anybody with any information should call us in confidence,' she said. 'We want to find out who has done this fly-tipping.

'Whoever pollutes or creates fly-tipping is responsible for the cost of clearing it up.'

The agency is asking anyone with any information to contact them in confidence on 0800 807060.