A Devonshire resident has slammed selfish dumpers who left asbestos in a pile of rubbish in Vesey Street on Saturday night.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said the pile was near the equestrian centre and nature reserve.

The area has long been a dumping ground, she said but leaving hazardous waste was ridiculous.

"Everyone has a problem of getting rid of waste but this is too much."

She added her daughter believes she caught another would-be dumper in the act on Sunday night but he felt embarrassed and drove off.

"This is on-going problem. There is always commercial dumping of trees or building supplies as well as garbage from homes.

"People come because it's dark, there's no street lighting from Barker's Hill to the Equestrian centre."

Senior Environmental Health Officer Roger Mello confirmed some of the rubbish was asbestos but said it there was no risk to the public.

He said dust could have been released when it was broken but any danger had gone unless it was chopped up more.

However Mr. Mello condemned the dumpers. "It's just people who don't care, they do these things. It's not very good. We should do better than this." He recommended people with asbestos debris from Hurricane Fabian call asbestos abatement contractors or Works and Engineering for advice on how to deal with it. "It's not an excuse for people who have it to at this time take it off," he added.

More on asbestos, see Page 3