Gill Morrissey made the frightening discovery when she returned to her Bridgend home with her children.

The red bag, sealed and labelled as containing three kinds of asbestos, is thought to have been left by contractors working on a nearby property.

Gill (35) who has children of 16, 15 and six, told the Gazette: ''I found the bag inside my fence on the shared path to my house. I put their chemical codes for the asbestos into Google – it said one increased your chance of getting cancer 500 times!

"My immediate thought was what if this gets into the wrong hands. I can say to my kids not to touch it, it is dangerous, and I know they won't touch it. But some kids would look anyway.

"I was very angry and phoned West Lothian Council and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency. One council workmen told me he had been told by his boss not to touch it, which I fully understand. You probably need a specialist for this.''

Gill, of Auldhill Entry, said: ''I would be horrified if I thought this could happen again. SEPA told me that a bag like this could easily have been ripped and scattered about by an animal. I really think the contractors have a duty to dispose of it properly.''

A spokesman for West Lothian Council said it will look again
at communication between contractors and uplift teams.

He said: "A sub-contractor found a small amount of asbestos during an inspection of an empty property at 24 Auldhill Entry, on Wednesday, February 13. It was labelled and safely stored at the property.

"Our Construction Services team were made aware of the asbestos on Thursday, February 14, and an asbestos licensed contractor was instructed to uplift the bags. They attended site and removed the bags on Friday, February 15. This meets with our currently agreed procedure, however, it is our intention to improve co-ordination between contractors and Construction Services in the future."

jackie.mitchell@journalandgazette.co.uk

SEPA say anyone finding asbestos should phone them on 0800 807060.
Asbestos was used for its fire and heat resistant qualities, however, it can cause serious illness if the fibres are inhaled, and has been banned in many countries since the 1980s.