Staff at the Environment Agency are working at the former Hampole Quarry site to reduce the fire risk and enhance the area.

A previous phase of work removed a large proportion of the tyres and now machinery is on site levelling and covering the remaining tyres so that plants and wildlife can be re-established.

Between the 1970s and 1990s more than three million tyres were dumped in the former limestone quarry and railway cutting narr the A1M causing a significant fire risk and eyesore for the area.

Over 8,000 tonnes of tyres have been cleared from the three hectare site which have been recycled. Of the remaining tyre stockpile, a third of it has now been covered with a special membrane. Once the remaining area has been covered, a layer of shale and a topping of limestone mix will be added, creating a similar soil to that which occurs naturally in the area. This limestone will then be seeded with special plants that thrive in this type of environment.

Michael Hughes, project manager at the Environment Agency said: "By covering the tyres the environmental risk will be stabilised. We're working closely with ecologists from Doncaster Council and local conservation groups, to ensure that the correct plants and vegetation are introduced to make the area a valuable ecological site."

Until the 1990s the site was subjected to the uncontrolled dumping of approximately 23,000 tonnes of tyres posing a significant risk of combustion, which in turn would release toxic contaminants into the air and groundwater.

In February 2003 Doncaster Council formally determined the site as contaminated land and designated it a special site under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The Environment Agency took over regulatory control of the site and responsibility for improving it.