Abertillery: Collapsed coal tip led to ‘frightening’ landslip

A woman whose street was hit by a landslip from a coal tip has described slurry running down the road carrying “trees and big boulders”.

Residents in Cwmtillery, Blaenau Gwent, had to leave their homes to stay in a leisure centre on Sunday night after torrential rain in Storm Bert.

Dianne Morgan said one tree was swept down Upper Gwastad Terrace onto a garage, destroying it, and another onto a car with “loads of slurry running down and piling up.”

Blaenau Gwent council confirmed the landslip was a “wash-out of a former coal tip in the area”, and the tip was Category D, which has the most potential impact to public safety.

The incident prompted calls for the UK government to expand the £25m support it has offered for coal tips.

The landslip left buildings deep in sludge and mud as water poured down the street.

Cars got stuck among mud and rocks after debris came down from a nearby coal tip.

“I rang emergency services and explained that trees were coming down the road, big boulders and that a garage has been completely destroyed,” said Ms Morgan, who has lived near the coal tip for nearly 10 years.

“He said, ‘do you want some sandbags’, and I said ‘I don’t think sandbags are going to do it’.

“It was a good few hours before anybody came,” she added.

Despite being told to evacuate Ms Morgan said it was too difficult to leave because her daughter is blind.

She also said she was not told the tip is among those of the highest risk in Wales.

“They should have informed people better than what they do.”

First Minister Eluned Morgan said the Welsh government was monitoring the coal tips “very carefully”.

“We will do everything in our powers to make sure that we keep the investment going into making sure that we protect those tips from any landslides.”

The Welsh government said it was “fully committed to ensuring our coal tip communities are safe, both now and in the future”.

“The highest risk coal tips (category C and D) are regularly inspected by the Coal Authority and we will continue to work with our statutory partners throughout Wales to inspect and evaluate the highest rates tips in Wales.”

Resident Wayne Green, who lives on a row of houses furthest up the mountain and directly beneath where the landslip happened, said he went with his family to the emergency centre after being told to leave the street.

“It was a long night, they couldn’t find us accommodation until 1:30am, but we were well looked after in the leisure centre, with hot drinks and sandwiches and were kept informed on what was happening,” he said.

He said his family have been booked into a hotel in Ebbw Vale, nine miles (14.5km) away, for three nights while the situation is assessed.

“We were provided with a minibus taxi to get us here, but I’m not sure how to get back as I couldn’t get my car off the street due to knee-deep sludge at the end where the landslide happened,” Mr Green said.

Before the evacuation, he said the fire service had told him residents were to leave via a specific route if they heard a siren.

The tip is owned by Blaenau Gwent council, and the Coal Authority said it was at the site to provide expertise and support.

“We are also continuing to undertake proactive checks of our own tips – and of wider higher-risk tips as agreed with Welsh government and is normal after periods of intense rainfall,” the Coal Authority said.

“Council teams and contractors are on site where we have started initial remedial works to address the immediate issues and work towards a safe return for residents,” the council said.

Fellow resident Becky Ashford-Singer said it was “carnage” on Sunday night.

“Everybody from the street came out, there were people with shovels for about three hours.

Ms Ashford-Singer said she was unable to get to work on Monday and her two children would be off school as their car was stuck.

“We stayed here overnight. We were told by the police that if we heard sirens or whistles, then we have to evacuate,” she said.

“It was quite scary, especially because we’ve got two children. We were thinking: do we stay awake and wait to listen or do we go to sleep?

“Thankfully, the landslide didn’t happen again,” she said.

Another resident, Rob Scholes, said it was “frightening” and was “surprising how quick it happened”.

“I’ve lived here 17 years, the last time I saw something similar was four years ago with Storm Dennis, but it wasn’t this bad,” he said.

Mr Scholes said he had to jump out of the window to escape his house, saying all he had were the clothes he was wearing last night.

Abbie Woolmer, who was in her home when the landslip happened, left with her three children late at night after being warned further disruption could happen.

They are now staying with family, and she said she felt lucky to have someone to stay with.

“I’ve been told by neighbours to wait 24 to 48 hours, but nothing yet from officials,” she said.

“Fire services told us last night that there were loose boulders up on the site that could possibly fall.”

Labour UK government ministers had announced £25m for coal tip safety at the October budget.

It followed years of calls from Labour politicians in Cardiff Bay for specific funding, arguing that the problems pre-date the Welsh government.

In the Commons on Monday, Labour MP for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney Nick Smith welcomed the cash that had been made available, but asked if further support for tips would be available after the “extraordinary weather”.

Plaid Cymru’ Ynys Môn MP Llinos Medi said only 4% of the £600m previously estimated to make Wales coal tips safe had been pledged.

UK government Environment Secretary Steve Reed said he shared concerns over the issue, and that his government was the first to offer funding.

He said the prime minister had made clear the UK government would “stand ready to provide more support to the Welsh government if that is required”.

“People living in former mining communities across South Wales deserve greater reassurance on what the government’s going to do about these coal tips,” Liberal Democrat Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP David Chadwick said.

Category D tips are inspected twice a year. The Welsh government told BBC Wales that as the last inspection report dated 23 August, no major issues were identified.

Leader of Blaenau Gwent council Steve Thomas said: “We can confirm that we are dealing with a localised landslide believed to be caused by excess water as a consequence of weather experienced during Storm Bert.”

He added experts and contractors were on site working hard to resolve the situation.

“We understand that it is concerning and upsetting for people to leave their homes but the safety of the public is always paramount,” he said.

“We have arranged emergency accommodation for residents where required and have set up an advice centre locally for anyone requiring support and assistance at this time.

“We are currently unable to give a timescale on when people can return to their homes, but we are keeping people informed and our help and support will continue throughout this time.”

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed it had two fire engines at the scene but did not give any more detail.