‘I kept smelling a horrible nasty smell’: the risks of England’s old dumping grounds

For some, the smell brings on nausea and headaches. Others fear ‘forever chemicals’ seeping into the water

• UK and Europe’s hidden landfills at risk of leaking toxic waste into water supplies

“I just kept smelling this horrible, nasty smell … like animal excrement, and I was wondering what it was,” says Jess Brown, from Fleetwood, Lancashire.

Brown’s mother suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and she believes the smells make it worse. She also worries for her eight-year-old daughter, whose asthma worsens when the odour seeps indoors.