Harrow Council reminded residents of their responsibilities when it comes to health and safety after a “killer fly-tip” of asbestos was dumped in a residential area.

Several green bags filled with harmful material was left by the side of Magpie Hall Road, Stanmore, near the border with Hertfordshire.

The council slammed the party responsible, accusing them of having no regard for the safety of others and urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

The toxic nature of the fly-tip means it must be dealt with by a specialist team.

It was taped off soon after it was reported, and a Harrow Council spokeswoman confirmed that it should be removed within three days.

She said: “This sort reckless and irresponsible behaviour that puts residents in danger make us so angry.

“This really is a killer fly-tip, our own staff can’t even touch it – it needs to be removed by specialists, and at the expense of the taxpayer.

“Whoever did this doesn’t care about others or the environment, and if you have any information on who carried out this crime please get in touch so we can prosecute them for putting lives at risk.”

A similar incident occurred last year in Pinner, where waste – including asbestos – was irresponsibly dumped on a residential street.

In this instance, it took almost a month to have it removed due to a glitch in the system of the specialist team responsible for taking it away.