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These are the mountains of clinical waste currently stockpiled in an "abandoned" Newcastle site.

Resembling a haunting cityscape, the disturbing images show tonnes of clinical, pharmaceutical and surgical waste still locked up at Healthcare Environmental Services' (HES) base on Chollerton Drive, Benton.

Fridges at the centre still sit full with human remains from surgical training in the city, including heads, torsos, arms and legs, according to staff.

Pallets stand stacked on top of one another with waste collected over previous months ready to be incinerated.

HES lost its contracts with NHS Scotland and 17 NHS trusts in England but denied it was responsible for stockpiling body parts.

The English and Scottish health boards have now cancelled their contracts, causing the firm's collapse.

The pictures - taken over the course of several months towards the end of 2018 - were provided by a former Newcastle-based employee.

The former employee, who said the site has not been cleared since the firm's collapse, claimed:

The Benton site remains full of clinical, pharmaceutical, and surgical waste - some of which is deemed highly infectious and toxic.

Flies were being attracted to the site by the "rotting" waste.

The centre's fridge still contains 770-litre bins containing body parts such as heads, torsos, arms, and legs from surgical training.

An estimated 60 bins worth of clinical waste are still "lying around" in the depot hall.

Waste was also being stored in trailers in the site's yard against regulations.

The employee said: “Some days the smell got horrendous. Plant operatives sometimes came in saying they couldn't work because of it.

"Flies were gathering on the waste which was starting to rot.

"The waste was coming in on a regular basis – that wasn't the problem – but it was getting stockpiled because it was not getting disposed of in an incinerator.

“At the end of the day, HES have been paid to dispose the waste and it has not been done."

HES' collapse has led to around 50 staff members at the Benton base being issued with redundancy notices on December 27.

Company bosses claim there was no cash to pay wages and workers should claim statutory redundancy from the Redundancy Payment Service.

But staff argue they have been given no insolvency reference number which has left them penniless and in limbo.

The former employee claims staff at the Newcastle site have not been paid since November 28, and some colleagues have been left up to £3,000 out of pocket.

They added: "It was like getting smacked in the face.

"It would have been a different kettle of fish had it happened in June or July. Come New Years' Day, you are thinking where is the money going to come from?

“We want to get out there and make sure it's covered across the whole of the UK. They can't go away and hide.

"We need to get the staff paid one way or the other."

North Tyneside MP Mary Glindon said: "The suspension of operations at the HES site is deeply concerning and my priorities are safety of the community and the future of the workers, who have lost their jobs.

"It’s assuring that the Environment Agency is actively monitoring the site and the clinical waste has been stored safely and securely.

"My office, North Tyneside Council and the DWP are all working together to help the former workers, who find themselves in a state of limbo as HES has not folded as a company.

"I have taken up the issue directly with the relevant minister to make sure the state fully discharges its duties to the workers and the community.

"I am also speaking with senior management from HES about their ongoing dispute with the Department of Health and the loss of contracts the company suffered last year, which may have led to the closure of HES sites across the UK, including North Tyneside."

HES could not be reached for comment.