FAMILIES living near a foot-and-mouth burial pit fear it could become a toxic timebomb on their doorstep.

Villagers have stepped up their campaign to close the Inkerman site in Tow Law, County Durham, fearing gases could escape.

The number of people attending the local doctors' surgery complaining of sore throats and headaches has increased, and GPs are taking swabs from patients' mouths to determine the cause.

People are particularly worried about possible emissions of hydrogen sulphide, which is dangerous in relatively minor concentrations.

Yesterday, the first independent readings were received from monitors set up near the pit, which showed no gas had escaped.

Several monitors were installed at Blessed John Duckett RC Primary, which lies less than half a mile from the boundary of the site.

Hydrogen sulphide is produced when the pit is sealed with clay, and oxygen cannot reach the carcasses.

The legal limit of hydrogen sulphide in the air is ten parts per million, at which point it is considered dangerous for workers.

In Tow Law, there are barely readable amounts of hydrogen sulphide in the air but villagers remain worried because it is present in dangerous quantities, 14 parts per million, inside the sealed-off pit. Gases from the site are filtered and burnt off, but villagers fear the clay cap could crack.

Hugh Nicol, from Tow Law, is well versed in the dangers of a hydrogen sulphide after working as an inspection team supervisor in the Gulf oil fields.

He said: "If one of the pit shafts underneath the site collapsed under the weight, the clay would crack and it would escape into the air."

Independent experts, who have been monitoring the site with Wear Valley District Council's environmental health department, dismissed the fears. Professor Peter Blain, from Newcastle Medical School, said: "The results so far suggest there's no need to be concerned."

Herd's reprieve - Page 8