Back in 2015, Emma Sheppard was forced to have her dog – Alfie – put down after he was diagnosed with throat cancer.

He was getting old, and although he had never been ill before, she decided he’d had a good life, and that this was just sometimes the way of the world.

However, when her other dog – Jess – contracted mouth cancer just a few months later, her heart was broken but her mind became suspicious.

Jess also had to be put down, and the family was distraught. But, for Emma, a seed of doubt had been planted and began to take root.

Then, a few weeks later, Emma noticed a skin lesion on her back. She went to the doctors and, ultimately, it was diagnosed as cancer. She says she knew then that something was very, very wrong.

Fast-forward a decade, and residents in that particular area of where Emma lived at the time (in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire) have received letters from the council advising them not to eat anything grown in their gardens.

That’s because, recently, the man-made chemical – PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) – has been discovered in the area.

This substance has been deemed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as carcinogenic to humans.

As a result, a joint investigation between the Environment Agency and Wyre Council has now been launched to try and determine if the level of PFOA in the ground is safe for the local residents.

Leader of Wyre Council, Michael Vincent, said: “We do not have any evidence that eating this produce will cause specific harm but think residents should consider taking a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach given that the produce tested has higher levels of PFOA than is desirable.”

Emma and her daughters with their dog, Jess

The investigation is currently looking into the potential release of PFOA, which was used at the former ICI site in Thornton-Cleveleys – now AGC Chemicals Europe Ltd – at the Hillhouse Technology Enterprise Zone between the 1950s and 2012.

In a statement to GB News, a representative for AGC Chemicals Europe said: “AGC Chemicals Europe, Ltd. sets the highest standards for itself and takes its commitments to the local community and to the environment extremely seriously.

“All our manufacturing is conducted in full compliance with UK and EU regulations today.

“AGC Chemicals Europe, Ltd. voluntarily phased out the use of PFOA as a polymerisation aid in its manufacturing processes in the UK by early 2012.

“Release of the substance was within the permit held by AGC Chemicals Europe, Ltd. at the time and also UK legislation in place at the time.

“At present, it is not clear what, if any, public health risk there may be around the site.

“As Wyre Council has confirmed, elevated concentrations are not necessarily a concern, although the results highlight the need for more detailed testing.”

Letter received by residents

Speaking to GB News, Emma said when she first moved in, she had noticed the grass in her garden wasn’t growing.

She now believes this was as a result of chemicals released by the former ICI site.

Since losing her dogs and being diagnosed with cancer herself, Emma has dedicated much of her life to researching information about the site and the chemical under investigation.

She told GB News that she has locally been dubbed ‘Erin Brockovich’ because of the amount of work she has put in to understand what’s happened to her and other residents.

Taken outside the Hillside site, where AGC Chemicals Europe is based

She added: “I wasn’t really aware of the history of the ICI site when I took the property… but I did so much investigation; I had the ground tested with my own money… there were high levels of metals and carcinogens in there.”

Now, Emma wants to see responsibility taken for what she alleges has happened.

Addressing the parties involved, she told them: “You thought I’d gone away but I haven’t. And I’m watching, and I’m waiting on this, because I knew I was right at the time.”

Furthermore, the local MP for the area, Lorraine Beavers, is now urging the Council and the Environment Agency to increase the pace of their investigation, so that residents like Emma can get the answers they need.

She told GB News that “if they don’t start getting their act together, we’re going to have to put more pressure on them, because at the end of the day, people want to move… and they want to feel safe in their own houses.

“At the end of the day, it’s about feeling safe, really.”

She added that as a self-proclaimed ‘Community MP’, that “anything that hurts my people, hurts me too. And I’ll go out there and I’ll fight for them”.