Harrow Council has apologised after it took almost a month for an asbestos fly-tip to be cleared from a residential street.

Cllr Graham Henson apologised to residents of St Ursula Grove, Pinner, after the hazardous waste was cleared several weeks after it was first reported.

He pointed out that, in asbestos cases, the issue is referred to specialists at the City of London and a system glitch on their behalf led to delays.

“They have apologised for this, but I will also apologise to the citizens of that road as this shouldn’t have happened,” he said.

“Once it was notified as asbestos, it should be cleared up properly and that hasn’t happened on this occasion.”

He added the council will do more to ensure there is greater pressure on outside bodies if this happens in the future.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting last month, Cllr Richard Almond, who represents Pinner South ward, which includes St Ursula Grove, gave a detailed outline of what happened since the fly-tip was reported on May 22.

He explained he contacted the council on several occasions following resident concerns about the time taken to remove it and described how the only council action had been to cover it in plastic and put up a yellow warning sign.

He said: “I accept that you were using an outside agent, but why on earth did it take almost a month for that tip, containing asbestos, on a typical suburban street, to be cleared?”

Cllr Henson reiterated that responsibility in these instances lies with the City of London, but he agreed it was ultimately the residents who suffer.

When the fly-tip was reported to the council, Cllr Varsha Parmar, responsible for the environment at Harrow Council, hit out at those who had dumped the waste.

She said: “Fly-tips that put our residents in danger make me so angry.

“This is a killer fly-tip that’s been recklessly dumped that not even our own staff can touch it because of how deadly it is.

“We have to get specialists to remove the asbestos, all at the expense of the taxpayer.

“Whoever did this has no respect for others or the environment. If you know who dumped this, please get in touch so that we can prosecute them for putting the public in danger.”