DON'T eat vegetables on your allotment, make sure you wash your hands and avoid taking soil back into your homes - the advice today from health chiefs after toxic metals were found near two York schools.

Letters were today landing on the doormats of worried residents after City of York Council engineers found concentrations of poisonous lead and arsenic in soil in the area around the Danesgate Pupil Support Centre at Fulford Cross.

Test results on a series of samples taken from boreholes on the site has revealed levels of lead and arsenic above recommended guidelines.

The samples, from the Danesgate site and an area known as the walled garden, were taken as part of the standard planning process following proposed alterations to the school. The Press understands that while the levels of arsenic were marginally higher than the guidelines, it is the lead which is proving most worrying - with the contaminate "significantly" above recommended levels.

As a result, the council has commissioned a detailed investigation of other sites around the Fulford Cross area, which includes testing:

the walled garden, which has been used by the Steiner School
the allotments at Fulford Cross
the area around the support centre, including Fulford Cross Nature Reserve
the old school playing fields.

Health chiefs have urged people on the allotment not to eat produce from the at-risk area, wash hands thoroughly after handling soil and avoid taking soil into homes.

But as the authority was expanding on the findings at a press conference today, city chiefs urged residents not to be unduly alarmed.

It said the soil samples did not automatically imply there was a risk - it simply showed that further assessment and investigation was required.

The letter from Patrick Scott, the council's director of learning, culture and children's services, has gone out to local residents, allotment holders, parents of children at Danesgate and Steiner School.

Mr Scott said: "Finding higher than average concentrations of certain heavy metals in old gardens and allotments is quite common because people used to use ash from fires as a fertiliser.

"The school playing field is on the site of an old waste tip, which may also result in higher levels of some substances. I understand that local residents will be concerned and we will be carrying out more detailed tests as a matter of urgency to find out whether the levels of contaminates in the area pose a risk.

"This could take a number of weeks. In the meantime, we have contacted the Health Protection Agency and will be working with them to ensure that local people have as much information as possible as soon as possible."

Rachel Johns director of public health for Selby and York Primary Care Trust, said: "We appreciate some people may have concerns and questions and we have put together some useful health information.

"This can be found on the PCT's website, through the Health Protection Agency website or for general health advice and information call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47."


Fulford Cross allotments

Fulford Cross allotments are a small site located just off Fulford Road, opposite Steiner School.

On City of York Council's website, the site is described as "attractive" and "friendly" where "you can easily get to know people, so it is very popular".

It is so popular, in fact, that prospective new members have to join a waiting list.

The walled garden, which has been used by Steiner School, is located in the middle of the allotment site.


Fulford Cross nature reserve

In 2003, concerned residents formed the Friends Of Fulford Cross Nature Reserve, which campaigned to resource the nature reserve on the site of Fulford Cross School.

The site was used by Fulford Open Air School from 1920 to 1960 for children suffering from TB, asthma, malnutrition and other health problems.

The nature area was then known as The Valley and was used for gardening lessons and outdoor activities.

Householders later applied for the site to be designated as a village green to preserve the woodland inside the grounds.


Danesgate and The Bridge Centre

DANESGATE currently houses The Bridge Centre and the city's pupil support centre for troubled teenagers.

The centre accounts for about 30 pupils from across the city and there are also plans afoot to expand the existing building to house a new vocational training centre for up to a further 30 teenagers aged between 14 and 16.

A planning application for the vocational training centre is due to go before City of York Council planners on September 14.

If it gets the go-ahead from councillors, work on the extension could begin before Christmas with the aim to open the vocational training centre in September 2007.

The building, off Fulford Road, was formerly the old Fulford Cross special school which closed in June 2004, after pupil numbers fell from 183 in 1980 to only 15.

In February, The Press reported that local residents were consulted over plans which proposed building the new vocational training centre in favour of putting housing on the site.

A report to City of York Council's executive member for resources advisory panel at the time ruled out the possibility of building homes on the site, as the cost of relocating the existing facilities would be too great.

In 2004, The Press reported City of York Council received a £2.4 million funding boost from the Government, and decided to go ahead with the project for a new centre using that money and its own cash.

The expanded skills centre would be run in partnership with Askham Bryan College, York College and the Learning And Skills Council, along with NYBEP (North Yorkshire Business And Education Partnership) and Connexions.

There was local opposition to houses being put on the site, and Peggy Mellers, the founder of the Friends Of Fulford Cross Nature Reserve, said the group remained opposed to any development of the site for housing.