Around a dozen homes have been evacuated in west London after a cleaner found suspected “radioactive” waste inside bin bags near a primary school on Thursday night.
The discovery was made by the cleaner as they were clearing the property of elderly “hoarders” in Hammersmith’s Bentworth Road, close to a primary school.
They took the rubbish to a scrap dealer where it was scanned and they were told it was "radioactive".
Police and specialist emergency crews were then called to the scene at 7pm and around a dozen homes were evacuated.
Other residents were warned not to enter the street until it was safe.
One of the cleaners, named George, told Metro: “There is so much stuff in there. Every room is filled with items - they haven’t thrown anything away for years.
"I took one load of bin bags and rubbish to the tip and when they scanned it they said I couldn’t leave it here because it was radioactive.
"I don’t even remember what was in them there was so much rubbish. I didn’t know what to do, but I had to go back to the house."
A neighbour added the couple who lived at the semi-detached council house were "serious hoarders".
George said he believed a woman who had lived at the property was 90 and had passed away, while a male occupant is said to be in a home.
A Met police spokesperson said: "We were called after a person found an item they believed contained a harmful/chemical substance - it was checked and found to be safe.”
They confirmed no further action was taken.
