VIDEO: Work to halt rubbish spill from Northam Burrows underway

THE largest emergency works ever carried out on Northam Burrows are under way in attempt to stop tonnes of rubbish spilling out into the Torridge Estuary.

Engineers began to re amour the edge of the burrows on Monday after stormy weather and spring tides caused severe erosion in October.

Dog walkers and golfers first noticed signs of rubbish appearing from a former rubbish dump which was closed nearly 20 years and now lies buried beneath the Site of Special Scientific Interest on the burrows.

Now Torridge District Council, who own the burrows and is the coastal erosion authority, and Devon County Council, who is responsible for the dump, are spending £1,500 each to ensure no more of the rubbish is exposed.

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It is a short term solution of extending the rock armour which is due to be completed tomorrow.

Shawn Corin, the head ranger at the burrows, said: “We have known about the risk of the rubbish being exposed but never thought it would happen this soon.

“Luckily it is the very edge of the tip which has been exposed so only a small amount of rubbish is there.

“It is had been exposed further back in the main part of the tip there would be metres of rubbish spilling out.

“A long term scheme is being worked on at the moment but really a national finance scheme needs to be set up to support all areas suffering from erosion like here.”

VIDEO: Work to remove the rubbish underway on Monday: