Stench was ‘like death’

A WASTE disposal firm stored body parts in a warehouse freezer but did not switch it on for months, it was claimed last night.

The foul stench “smelt like death” at the Healthcare Environmental Services site, a source said.

Workers were also allegedly made to empty tubs of needles and medical waste into cardboard boxes which were stockpiled in Normanton, West Yorks.

Stripped

But these tubs were meant to be sent to the incinerator, it was claimed.

The source said: “The freezer was full of human and animal body parts.

“It was switched off from October until about April. It only got switched on when the heatwave began.

“You can imagine the smell that was coming from it. It smelt like death.” The firm was stripped of 15 NHS contracts last week after it was claimed clinical waste piled up at its sites.

Health Minister Stephen Barclay told MPs more than 3.5 tonnes of body parts had been stockpiled at four locations.

The Environment Agency said the firm was in breach of environmental permits at four of its six sites in England which deal with clinical waste. An investigation has been launched. Bosses blamed a shortage of incinerators for the backlog, but denied claims human parts were among the waste.

A spokesman for Healthcare Environmental Services said: “We completely refute claims that anatomical waste has been handled incorrectly.

“There are no body parts stockpiled at any of our facilities.”