Environmental analysis news: Gardens 'to be tested for toxins'

A council in Leicestershire has been awarded cash to test a number of gardens for potentially harmful chemicals.

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council is set to spend £26,000 to investigate soil samples taken from the Little Hill Estate, the Leicester Mercury reports.

Councillor Bill Boulter said the money will be used to establish why 30 gardens were found to contain toxins.

"Fortunately, there have been no reports of ill health in the area but we need to see how the contaminants can be taken out of the land. There are lots of different ways to do it and one way could be excavating the ground," he told the news provider.

The council is hoping to identify how the chemicals came to be in the gardens and who is responsible.

Meanwhile, it was announced earlier this year that a new test, known as the Cornell Soil Health Test, has been developed to monitor the impact of gas drilling work and construction on soil quality.

Written by Lauren Steadman