ILLEGAL flytippers have dumped a lorry load of toxic chemicals near to a Wheathampstead golf course.

Firefighters were called to the scene at 6.20pm on Thursday , when a member of the public alerted them to 16 heavy duty plastic boxes which had been dumped off Codicote Road.

The 1,000 litre containers, each surrounded by a metal cage, were later found to contain a mixture of diesel oil and acid, some of which had leaked out.

Firefighters from Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage spent three and half hours at the scene and contacted The Environment Agency for advice on containing the chemicals and reducing their impact on the surrounding countryside.

A spokesman for the agency said this week: "The area is still cordoned off and an independent company is looking at what's inside the containers before we begin moving them."

The agency believes the containers were dumped in two or more trips by the same vehicle and is appealing for anyone who saw people in the area acting suspiciously or has any information to call its 24-hour freephone hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

June 18, 2002 19:00