Mother tells of shock as suspected chemical barrels discovered in woods near Oswestry
People today spoke of their shock at discovering barrels suspected of holding hazardous chemicals that had been dumped in woodland behind their homes.
Claire Eke and her two children, 11 and nine, were
following the discovery of the containers just yards away.
Ms Eke today revealed her fear after being told to leave her home by firefighters as it was believed the barrels could have contained toxic chemicals.
The cul-de-sac was closed for two-and-a-half hours after three barrels were found in the woodland by a dog walker at about 4.30pm on Tuesday.
Shropshire Council's waste contractor Veolia is arranging for the barrels to be removed. The containers are sealed and it is not known what is inside.
Ms Eke said: "We were the only ones to be evacuated as it was right outside the back of our house. We were scared, we didn't know what was going on. We could see lights then we were just told get out now as toxic chemicals had been dumped in the woods and we could be infected. Thankfully they were sealed so it wasn't as bad as they'd thought to begin with but it was still scary. We didn't really sleep very well last night."
"I don't think they'd been there long as apparently the dog walker regularly walks there and hadn't seen them before."
Ruth Robinson, 60, had just returned home from Oswestry when she had been asked to stay indoors. She said: "I was surprised about this because it's a popular way for people to walk and it's never been used as a dumping ground before."
