Weatherwatch: storms can unlock pollution timebombs of landfill

Coastal rubbish dumps dotted around Britain are at risk of erosion and nobody knows what exactly is inside them

Britain's coasts were battered in this winter's storms. The Royal North Devon Golf Club, England's oldest golf course, had a sizeable chunk of its eighth hole washed away during Storm Eleanor in January. Less well publicised were fears of flooding at a nearby landfill site, which was last used in 1995 and contains hospital waste and other toxic material.

Related: Pollution risk from over 1,000 old UK landfill sites due to coastal erosion