Blast danger

DANGER warning . . . resident John Badby complaining about land on Cardwell Street where fly-tipping has become a major problem

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CHILDREN are playing with potentially deadly gas canisters on private land.

The land which lies at the back of houses on Cardwell Street in Hathershaw used to accommodate garages before the owner began taking them down - but he has not been seen for the last six months since work on the site was last carried out.

The site is now commonly used for fly tipping, vandalism and most concerning to residents a play area for children as young as six who go on the site and play with the full gas canisters that have been left there.

As well as the cannisters - which could ignite and cause a fire - there is barbed wire, rubble, asbestos, pipes, metal sheets, evidence of fires and a trampoline which has been mounted on old tyres present on the site.

John Badby (44) who lives on the street, said: “It’s not safe. You get kids in there every day and they shouldn’t be on the land.

“They are messing with gas canisters. If something goes wrong whoare the parents going to blame?

It’s an eyesore, the man who owns it has taken the garages down and he’s just left it as a tip.

“Even though that land, why can’t the council do something about putting up gates?

“Is the owner going to come back? It’s been gong on for five months.”

The council is aware of the situation and has taken measures to rectify it but will face difficulty in erecting gates as it is private land.

A council spokesman said: “We have attended the scene and we will start the community protection notice procedure which means that we will send a warning letter to the owner advising them of the situation and give them 28 days to resolve the issue.

“If the situation is not resolved within this time period we can serve a community protection notice which allows us to carry out the work in default plus issue fixed penalty notices every time there is a breach of the notice.”

Although Greater Manchester Fire Service is not involved it advised parents to ensure children are made aware of the dangers of fires - which could come as a result of playing with the gas canisters.

A spokesman said: “Fire is one of the most common causes of accidental injury and death among children and fire can be a dangerous fascination.”