A CONTAMINATION scare at dozens of Trowbridge homes built on a former landfill site has left residents unsure of the dangers they face.

West Wiltshire District Council will be drilling holes in gardens in Waterworks Road and Henderson Close to try to discover what materials were dumped at the site and whether they pose any risk. About 40 homes are affected.

Paul Watts, whose family live at Waterworks Road, said: "We don't actually know what is in the ground until they do the tests but it is always in the back of your mind that there could be contaminated materials such as asbestos.

"It will also concern us if something is found because that will then affect the price of houses."

The council has sent letters to people living at odd numbers between 41 and 61 Waterworks Road and the mostly elderly residents of numbers one to 30 Henderson Close, asking them to fill in a questionnaire about their homes.

The houses are built on the site of a former brick and tile works, where clay was extracted and the resulting hole filled with landfill.

Andrea Cole, who has lived at Waterworks Road for the past three years, said: "Our house was built in 1901, that is 103 years ago, and they have only just detected a problem and now they want to come and dig up people's gardens.

"There must be something they are worried about otherwise they wouldn't do it."

Council spokesman Louise Knox said a recent change in legislation means the council now has to actively look at the whole district to identify possible contamination risks rather than reacting once a problem is discovered.

She said: "All we know at this stage is that these properties are built on a site that is potentially contaminated.

"The outcome could be one of a thousand things, there could be no problem at all or there could be a major problem. We hope for all concerned it is the former."

The council proposes to drill 11 holes in all, each three inches across and three metres deep, to take samples of what is under the ground.

Local people have yet to be given any information or advice on what will happen if the land should prove to be contaminated.

District councillor Jeff Osborn has urged all householders to respond to the council's letter to allow as much information as possible to be gathered.

He said: "Residents should contact me if they want to talk it over.

"If, after the drilling, they find nothing then okay, but if contamination is found we have a problem and the big question is who is responsible?"