Warwickshire woodland path closed over asbestos fears

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Nature lovers claim a leading environmental charity has ruined a swathe of Warwickshire woodland by dumping tonnes of construction waste.


Linda is pictured holding a piece of material that she believes is asbestos.

Rubbish including broken bricks, scrap metal, plastic fittings and wire has been used to resurface a path in ancient woodland near Ryton.

But after allegations the new path could contain asbestos Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has now closed public access to Wappenbury Wood and launched an investigation.

The Trust, which owns the woodland off Oxford Road and employed a contractor to lay the path, says it is “hugely concerned, horrified and appalled” by the suggestion that asbestos could have been used.

Neighbours say they sent four samples of material to a laboratory to be analysed and three were positively identified as asbestos.

Linda Hutton, who lives on a farm next to the wood, is a volunteer warden for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust but is devastated by the damage.

She said: “It’s basically just fly-tipping. We were suspicious about some of the pieces which looked like asbestos so we got four pieces analysed by an independent laboratory and three of the four were either asbestos or had asbestos fixed to them.

“If you are pushing a push chair or walking with your dog you could be inhaling this stuff. It’s horrendous.”

The path was resurfaced so the Trust could remove timber from coppicing work without destroying the forest floor.

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Wappenbury Wood reopens after asbestos scare

A SWATHE of ancient woodland that was closed to the public after an asbestos scare earlier this year has now been reopened.

Wappenbury Wood, near Ryton and Princethorpe, was closed by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust in March after fears were raised that work in the wood had left asbestos embedded in newly-laid footpaths.

But the trust has re-opened Wappenbury, saying an “extensive and exhaustive” investigation found no harmful contamination in the woodland.

Ian Jelley, head of living landscapes at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, said “I’m pleased that we can give the all clear for the track at Wappenbury Wood.

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