Zane Gbangbola: Parents denied testing of Chertsey land they suspect emitted toxic gas that killed son
Date of alert:
Wednesday 16 March 2022
Crime Ref:
Force:
Surrey Police
The parents of a seven-year-old boy who died in the 2014 floods have been denied an investigation into the land next to their Chertsey home they suspect emitted toxic gas.
Zane Gbangbola's parents think hydrogen cyanide was washed out of the former landfill site, and believe this fatally poisoned their son eight years ago.
Last September, Spelthorne Borough Council's environment and sustainability committee vowed to urgently consider how to conduct a full investigation and examination of Lavenders Landfill behind Zane’s Thameside home.
But after taking legal advice, the committee unanimously agreed last Tuesday (March 8) they would not do anything, as unless new evidence comes to light any action may be unlawful.
In what chairman Ian Beardsmore called a “depressing” report, council officers have now said they did not have the evidence required to do any testing.
A desktop study at the time of Zane’s inquest in 2016 concluded the site’s risk profile did not meet the criteria to to be categorised as ‘contaminated land’.
Cllr Beardsmore (Ind, Sunbury Common) said: “I think this is a very depressing report but we’ve got to accept it. I’ve read the report and frankly it does my head in.
