Health and safety officers from Herefordshire Council were quick to respond to calls from a local Councillor who passed on concerns from Ross residents worried about the way asbestos was being removed from a building.

The residents called Councillor Andrew Atkinson on Thursday morning, September 13th, because they were worried about the demolition of the former laundry off Tanyard Lane and the Ledbury Road in Ross.

Within 40 minutes of the first telephone call Cllr Atkinson was on site talking to Richard Roberts of Herefordshire Council. Mr Roberts inspected all the paperwork relating to the demolition. He also spoke to the site manager and was reassured that the work was being carried out correctly and according to the correct procedures.

He told Cllr Atkinson that the workers, who were carrying out the demolition on behalf of Persimmon Homes, were using a scissor lift to access the roof. He explained that the asbestos is bonded, which is less dangerous, and they were bringing it down carefully, not throwing it, which avoided creating dust.

Mr Roberts added that those at greatest risk were the workmen and they were wearing the correct overalls and masks to avoid problems. He said that the workmen were using cutters to remove the bolts rather than sawing them to minimise the dust and were carefully bagging up the sheets.

The site manager told Councillor Atkinson that a leaflet explaining the process had been delivered to local homes with a number for people to call with any worries, the Councillor was also able to give more reassurance to anyone with worries.

Cllr Atkinson said that: "There were a number of concerned residents and I am pleased that environmental health were there so quickly to check that everything was in order."