A pile of hazardous waste has been dumped near a public highway in Wirral.
The waste, which included a significant quantity of asbestos, was left on Riverbank Road in Bromborough, sparking a stark warning from Wirral Council.
Taking to social media, Wirral Council said whoever did this has put themselves at risk due to the substance being "so dangerous".
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It will "take time" to remove the waste due to the need of specialist handling, and as a result the area will be taped off.
People are being urged to stay away until it has been removed safely.
A Council officer investigating the incident said: "Whoever removed this has put themselves and any other workers at risk - maybe also their client. This substance is so dangerous that any removal should have been notified to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
"It will take time to remove this waste and it will require specialist handling. In the meantime, the area will be taped off to warn people to stay away from it.
"Someone must know where this came from, but did they know the risk it posed? Do the workers that handled it know how dangerous it is? Are they being medically reviewed if they do this regularly?
"Our worry is that they don’t know, work such as this would usually require a properly licensed contractor and we would expect them to know the rules on handling asbestos."
Anyone with information is urged to report it by clicking here.
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