A PENSIONER has raised concerns about the possible dangers of a site near Bedale, where hundreds of chemical weapons are said to be buried.

Lol Daniel, 76, is concerned because of the thousands of tons of gas shells that he was told were buried at Fox Covert, an isolated spot between Well and Nosterfield.

Hambleton District Council has passed on his concerns to the Environment Agency, which is to investigate the claims.

Mr Daniel, of Well, recalls advice given to him years ago by a local police sergeant who, as a young soldier, was stationed at one of the biggest arms dumps in the country, at Camp Hill Plantation, near Fox Covert.

The sergeant had said children should never be allowed to enter the site because, at the end of the Second World War, he helped bury hundreds of gas shells there.

Fox Covert was planted with larch trees after children were taking home wartime relics, but Mr Well said the trees have died in one corner.

He has been trying to get officials from the local authority and the Army to investigate the site after alterations to the drainage in the area.

He said: "I do not want to scare the whole population, but my biggest worry is if anything is leaking out into the watercourse.

"All I am asking is for ground and water samples to be taken, if only to satisfy me and reassure local people."

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "We have been requested by Hambleton District Council to inspect this site. The inspection needs to be carried out before we can assess what action, if any, needs to be taken."