Hammersmith homes evacuated after 'radioactive' waste found in bin bags near primary school

A dozen homes were evacuated last night (Thursday, November 21) after a cleaner discovered suspected 'radioactive' waste in bin bags, startlingly close to a primary school. The worker was clearing out a property in Hammersmith, West London, belonging to elderly "hoarders" when they stumbled upon the alarming find.

The private company had been tasked with emptying the semi-detached council house on Bentworth Road on Thursday afternoon. Two employees took bags of rubbish to a scrap dealer where it was scanned and identified as "radioactive".

Emergency services, including the police, were called to the scene at 7pm following the incident. Due to the discovery over a dozen homes were evacuated, with pedestrians and residents also barred from entering the street.

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Speaking to Metro, one of the cleaners, George, said: "There is so much stuff in there. Every room is filled with items - they haven’t thrown anything away for years. I took one load of bin bags and rubbish to the tip and when they scanned it they said I couldn’t leave it here because it was radioactive. I don’t even remember what was in them there was so much rubbish."

He continued: "I didn’t know what to do, but I had to go back to the house." The cleaner further revealed that he believes a woman in her 90s lived there before she died, and a male occupant who is now in a care home.

George said: "They’re hoarders, it could have been there for decades. They scanned it [the bags] in the scrapyard, and anything that goes through it and beeps they don’t let you take anything in. I’ve cleaned so many houses and places like this and just don’t know what is inside the place. It’s a council house and you never know what you’re going to find, but someone needs to clean up the rubbish. "

A neighbour described having to sit outside after he returned home from work last night due to the street being blocked off. He told Metro: "I came home and I’ve been sitting outside my house for ages. Someone told me there was radioactive material in there, it is worrying now because their garden is next to my garden. They were both really old."

He continued: "The old lady passed away last Christmas and he has been in a home for a few months now. Nobody else was living there, I think they must have had their whole life in that house, and it looked like they never threw anything away. They were very nice people; they were serious hoarders. Their place is just full you can’t even move in their place."

A spokesperson for the Met police issued an update: "We were called after a person found an item they believed contained a harmful/chemical substance – it was checked and found to be safe. No further action."

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