* Zane was overcome as he slept as floodwaters rose in Surrey
* Experts flagged up 'HIGH RISK' of contamination on land at the back of home
* BUT Spelthorne Borough Council's contaminated-land officer advised against testing the land on the grounds of cost
* Experts flagged up 'HIGH RISK' of contamination on land at the back of home
* BUT Spelthorne Borough Council's contaminated-land officer advised against testing the land on the grounds of cost
Zane's mother said last night "It sickens me that the Environment Agency nor the council even warned us we were living next to a landfill site and there may be lethal gases.
'But to find out we were kept in the dark for financial reasons is just devastating. How much was Zane's life worth?
Cost-cutting officials decided it would be too expensive to investigate concerns over gases coming from a landfill site now blamed for the death of a seven-year-old boy in last year’s floods.
Experts flagged up a ‘high risk’ of contamination on land at the back of the home of tragic schoolboy Zane Gbangbola as early as 2010.
But the internal report for the Environment Agency (EA) also discloses that Spelthorne Borough Council’s contaminated-land officer advised against testing the land on the grounds of cost.
The shocking revelation is the latest twist in the battle by the boy’s grieving parents Kye and Nicole Gbangbola to find out the truth about their son’s sudden death last February.
Zane was overcome by fumes while he slept as floodwaters rose in the basement of the family’s home in Chertsey, Surrey. His parents were also rushed to hospital and diagnosed as suffering from hydrogen cyanide poisoning, which has left Kye, 49, a paraplegic.
A post-mortem into Zane’s death found he suffered ‘carbon monoxide poisoning’ after police suggested a gas leak from a petrol-driven flood pump was responsible – but no such pump was in use at the time.
The EA commissioned a study of the site in April 2010 when it planned to build a cabin for workers next door to the Gbangbolas’ home. But when contamination fears were raised, the local council advised it was cheaper for the EA to simply protect its own property with a gas-proof membrane rather than carry out gas monitoring – and not warn neighbouring residents.
Mrs Gbangbola, 37, said last night: ‘It sickens me that neither the EA or the council even warned us we were living next to a landfill site and there may be lethal gases. But to find out we were kept in the dark for financial reasons is devastating.’
An EA spokesman said: ‘We have worked with Surrey Police and await the coroner’s findings.’
Spelthorne Borough Council failed to respond.
Original story click here >>
Experts flagged up a ‘high risk’ of contamination on land at the back of the home of tragic schoolboy Zane Gbangbola as early as 2010.
But the internal report for the Environment Agency (EA) also discloses that Spelthorne Borough Council’s contaminated-land officer advised against testing the land on the grounds of cost.
The shocking revelation is the latest twist in the battle by the boy’s grieving parents Kye and Nicole Gbangbola to find out the truth about their son’s sudden death last February.
Zane was overcome by fumes while he slept as floodwaters rose in the basement of the family’s home in Chertsey, Surrey. His parents were also rushed to hospital and diagnosed as suffering from hydrogen cyanide poisoning, which has left Kye, 49, a paraplegic.
A post-mortem into Zane’s death found he suffered ‘carbon monoxide poisoning’ after police suggested a gas leak from a petrol-driven flood pump was responsible – but no such pump was in use at the time.
The EA commissioned a study of the site in April 2010 when it planned to build a cabin for workers next door to the Gbangbolas’ home. But when contamination fears were raised, the local council advised it was cheaper for the EA to simply protect its own property with a gas-proof membrane rather than carry out gas monitoring – and not warn neighbouring residents.
Mrs Gbangbola, 37, said last night: ‘It sickens me that neither the EA or the council even warned us we were living next to a landfill site and there may be lethal gases. But to find out we were kept in the dark for financial reasons is devastating.’
An EA spokesman said: ‘We have worked with Surrey Police and await the coroner’s findings.’
Spelthorne Borough Council failed to respond.
Original story click here >>
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