Homes 'covered in thick black dust' as locals call for action over 'clouds of ash'

Residents say the black dust, which is being caused by work at Aberthaw Quarry to remove ash from the site, has even got into their eyes and throats. Ted Peskett finds out more...

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MOST people across Wales were out enjoying the fine sunny weather as temperatures soared over the past couple of weeks.

However, this was not the case for a number of communities in south Wales who claim their homes and possessions were covered in dust that was allegedly blown in from a nearby quarry after a period of dry and windy conditions.

Residents in the villages of Fonmon and Font-y-Gary, Vale of Glamorgan, also claimed to have sore eyes and difficulties with breathing due to the pulverised fuel ash (PFA) from Aberthaw Quarry.

Global energy company RWE is behind the works that have been taking place at the site over the past year, which involves cleaning it and removing the PFA so that it can be returned to agricultural use.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said it is investigating the works to make sure proper controls were put in place and RWE has apologised for the impact of the recent incidents - something it said it is “quickly and diligently” trying to address.

"I noticed that the soles of our feet... were absolutely black," said Charlotte Troth, as she recalled one of the worst incidents of ash being blown into Fonmon recently.

"[They were] filthy black and I'd only walked inside my house without my shoes on.

"Then I started looking all over the house and my two-year-old daughter's bedroom window sills were covered in thick black dust.

"Because it had been warm that day we'd had the windows open and obviously hadn't realised what was happening until later in the day.

"Basically the whole house was covered in thick black dust, so we went into panic mode... [and] just started deep-cleaning everything."

Describing the next day, she added: "My eyes were feeling gritty and when I woke up in the morning it was like having sandpaper in my eyes... and they felt really dry.