Neighbours living next to abandoned landfill site fear constant fires are giving them cancer - as they launch legal action against council

Locals living next to a former landfill site which constantly erupts into an inferno fear the smoke is giving them cancer and have launched legal action against the council.

Last week, four fire engines and 25 firefighters rushed to tackle one of these blazes at the site in Launders Lane in Rainham, East London , which had burst into flames.

Sadly, this is nothing new, with the fire brigade shelling out a staggering £986,476 between 2011 and 2023 to send crews to the site which has been a problem for over 20 years.

And for those who live in the area, it's a living nightmare. Families are too terrified to let children play outside because 'smoke and big chunks of ash' fall into their gardens.

Homeowners described the smells as being similar to burning rubber, manure, nail polish remover, and petrol . Some even said they are trying to sell their homes to move away because they can't bear it.

Locals said that if they are outside for more than five minutes they start 'wheezing' and they struggle to breathe in their homes when the windows are left open.

Residents of Rainham previously claimed a child who was exploring the smouldering field had his shoes fused to his feet from the heat, that he was hospitalised and required a skin graft.

Several heartbroken pet owners told MailOnline they believe living close to the site has led to their dogs dying from lung problems.

Many of the people living in the residential suburb have developed lung cancer or diseases, and some suffer from frequent nosebleeds.

They've set up a campaign group called Clean Air in Havering which has sent a pre-action letter in a bid against the council as a 'last resort'.

The London Fire Brigade has attended over 115 fires at the site since 2011 and the organisation has previously said the site poses a significant risk to its firefighters due to its unstable nature.

Christine Read, 76, moved in with her son in his house which backs onto the fields two years ago after retiring from being a foster carer.

The local, who is an active member of the Launders Lane Crisis Facebook group, says she has since been diagnosed with lung cancer and has experienced lots of other health problems.

She said: 'I was diagnosed with lung cancer in less than a year of living here, and my dog died of cancer.

'When the test results came back, I cried, my son cried. I am in remission at the moment, but they said if it comes back then I have 18 months to live.

'My son feels really guilty because he thinks if he hadn't moved me here then I would still have my health and my lung. I want to live to see my grandson grow up.'

With the amount of smoke blowing into her garden, Ms Read says she is unable to leave her home and feels trapped.

The family say they have invested in multiple air filters and seven fans to keep their house cool and the air clean.

Ms Read added: 'When it kicks off, the whole lot blows into my garden. We get smoke and big chunks of ash. I can't sit in my garden or take my grandchild out.

'I am a prisoner in my own house. There is nothing left that we can do. It is just a case of sitting here and waiting to die.

'My sinuses are bad, and all my skin is dry and itchy. I wake up with blood spots on the back of my nightie where I have been scratching myself in my sleep.

'The council won't take it seriously until people start dropping dead. No one had done anything or taken any accountability, we will not stop fighting.'

The local authority published a report into incidences of cancer in residents near to Arnold's Field site, compared with Havering residents or England as a whole.

It found there were similar rates of lung cancer, brain cancer and haematological cancers (such as leukaemias) amongst those living near Launders Lane as in Havering as a whole - although the data analysed only went as far as 2020.

Pauline Davis, 63, has recently had to step down from her school receptionist job after discovering a shadow on her lung - which she believes was caused by the fumes.

The worried resident has lived on the road for around 12 years with her husband Richard, and she says the couple are now looking to sell their home as they can't take it anymore.

She said: 'We have been breathing it in for over ten years. Lately the fires seem to be all the time. When they happen, it is so bad in here, we had to get a fan because you couldn't get any air.

'Everyone keeps getting cancer and we don't know if it is related. My doctor said that there are loads of people showing up with problems from this.

'It has got to a point now where it is unbearable. I am really worried. It is really frightening. It's just madness.

'I just want to get out now. We are trying to move because I just need to get away. I would never have moved if it wasn't for the fires.

'When you try and tell people they look at you like you are mad.'

Her husband Richard, 66, added: 'I walked out the other day and you couldn't even see the houses at the end it was so bad.

'Once when there was a fire gas bottles were exploding, making this huge bang. The land fell underneath the firefighters, so now they won't go back there because they say it is unsafe.

'They are still classifying it as greenbelt land. It is a toxic site.

'Sadiq Khan says this is not his problem. He is now charging us £12 a day for clean air but we can't even breathe it.'

Husband and wife Gary and Louise Duncan have lived on the road for eight years and said the smoke has also caused numerous health problems for them.

Mr Duncan, 48, has now been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema and says he struggles to breathe when in the garden.

He said: 'I can't breathe. The garden really needs doing, there are weeds everywhere but I can't be out there because the air is so bad.

'If I go outside for more than five minutes I start wheezing.'

His wife said she worries a lot about him as he now uses a pump multiple times a day.

She said: 'He never used to have COPD, it only happened last year. So, we think it could have been caused by living next to that.

'He had to give up work because he couldn't breathe. It is horrible to see him like that.'

The resident has also started experiencing her own health problems such as headaches, a sore throat, and even a stroke that landed her in the hospital.

She added: 'It has gotten a lot worse in the last two years. It is so bad that when I open the windows to shower, I can't breathe, I was choking and being sick.

'I recently had a stroke which has never happened to me before. Since we moved here I have been more ill than well.

'I get sore throats and severe headaches.

'If the government could fix all that then it would be the perfect place to live. I think they need to do something because people's lives are being put at risk.'

Sheila Ryley, 78, has lived in her home with her husband Malcolm for 35 years and says she has also noticed a sore throat from all the smoke.

She said: 'We have to shut all our windows and doors.

'It smells awful, and you don't know what that is doing to you. You don't know if there are any toxic fumes. My throat hurts a lot.

'That has been going on for about a decade, you lose track of time. It is ridiculous, you can't have Ulez here while all that is going on.'

Franklin Quarshire, 45, has lived on the road for six years and says the smell is so bad they are completely unable to open their windows.

He said: 'The smell is awful. We can't open our windows at all in the summer. My missus is always yelling at me to keep the windows and doors closed.

'Last year my youngest daughter had cancer. We don't think it is to do with this, but honestly you never know. It worries me raising my kids here, just in case.

'Nothing has been done about it. Somebody needs to be held accountable.'

Landowners DMC Ltd said the fires were due to 'historic waste'.

Analysis of the soil quality in November 2023 found the land contained asbestos, plastic bags, crisp packets, bricks, cans, polystyrene and asphalt.

Last year, Havering council threatened the owners of the land with separate legal action if they did not do more to prevent the fires, and served an abatement notice and community notice warning this August.

In its 20-year history, the land has also been used as an illegal weapons store and a cannabis farm.

DMC Ltd, which bought the land in 2017, previously said the council had not formally responded to its applications to improve the site.

The company claimed the council was 'blocking' its efforts to clean the land up and they had left the land alone to 'avoid antagonising the council and community'.

The owner said he takes his responsibilities 'very seriously' and claimed he has been 'in dialogue' with Havering Council for a number of years.

Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of Havering Council, said: 'The Council is aware of the petition but due to potential legal action, I am sure that you will appreciate that we are unable to comment further on this particular issue.

'However, we completely understand and sympathise with residents' concerns about the ongoing issues at Launders Lane. This is why our Administration has done more in the past year or so than previous Administrations have over the last two decades, to try and resolve this long standing issue.

'It should be noted - as it has been stated numerous times before - that this is private land and it is the landowner who is primarily responsible for taking practical steps to prevent fires taking place.

'As our latest resident email update stated - we continue to push the landowner to take more urgent action and recently facilitated a meeting between the landowner, London Fire Brigade and other experts along with a resident representative to explore what short/medium term measures could be put in place to reduce the occurrence/impact of the fires. This was followed by a site visit and there will be further engagement to find a resolution.

'We will continue to do everything we can to address the ongoing issues on this site and to push for a solution which suits the local community.

'We are not aware of any evidence that ash from the fires has caused lung cancer.

'We asked the National Disease Registration Service to look into this on our behalf and they found no significant difference in the rates of lung cancer in the area immediately around Launders Lane compared to the rest of Havering and England.'