THERE are four words that Worcestershire County Council does not want to hear this morning. And if Mike Layland does actually say "we told you so" then there will be few observers of the Bilford Road tip saga who will disagree with him.

Worcester's veteran councillor has, right from the start, argued that fly-tipping would immediately become a hazard as soon as the tip closed for its 23-week refurbishment. Dismissing such predictions, the county authority threw the ball back into the city's court by demanding proof of any problems that arose.

Today, we report how waste, including bin bags containing lethal asbestos, have been dumped in Ronkswood. According to a city council spokesman, this could just be the tip of the iceberg. Councillor Layland has not been slow to point the finger and this newspaper is with him all the way. We also believe that the decision to close the site during the summer, when the volume of refuse was bound to increase, amounted to an act of utter folly.

None of this is helped by an existing disagreement between the city and county councils regarding the removal of excess rubbish. This is not the first time that County Hall has been out of kilter with the Guildhall, and, we suspect, it will not be the last. Our view is that informed, grassroots opinion, exemplified by people like Mike Layland, is far more relevant than the machinations of slide-rule decision makers located some distance away.

In the meantime, we urge people to act responsibly. We don't want a long hot summer of rotting waste with the attendant dangers.