Anger over asbestos storage plan

People living near a former power station in South Derbyshire say they are unhappy over plans to store up to 30,000 tons of asbestos on the site.

The waste is being created by Drakelow station's gradual demolition.

Engineering company Roger Bullivant Ltd wants to store the waste there, saying it is safer than transporting it more than 150 miles to Tyneside.

Local residents say the material, which can cause severe lung problems, represents a health hazard.

We have to deal with the consequences of construction decisions made 50 years ago Mark Todd, South Derbyshire MP

John Dollman, who organised a petition against the plans, said: "The claim (it is safer not to move the asbestos) has some merit.

"But I don't believe the dumping of waste on site has anything to do with the handling of asbestos.

"I think it is more to do with the cost of transporting it to the north."

Mark Todd, South Derbyshire's Labour MP, said it is a difficult situation.

"I think most of us would like the asbestos not to be there in the first place and not to have to confront the problem," he said.

"But that is how power stations were built and we have to deal with the consequences of construction decisions made 50 years ago."