Eight UK playgrounds have been found to be contaminated with the weedkiller glyphosate, which is associated with serious health risks.

According to a study by the charity Pesticide Action Network UK, tests revealed that residues of glyphosate and its toxic breakdown product, AMPA, had been found in eight out of 13 playgrounds across three English counties and two London boroughs.

The charity has highlighted that glyphosate has been connected to ‘a range of chronic diseases’, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, with the effects of the pesticide posing a greater risk to children than to adults.

Nick Mole, Policy Officer at PAN UK, said: ‘It is deeply concerning to find a Highly Hazardous Pesticide like glyphosate present in the very places where our children play. UK glyphosate use has skyrocketed in recent years, as has the evidence linking this chemical to serious health conditions.

‘We all know that young children tend to put their fingers and other items in their mouths so finding glyphosate residues in playgrounds, including on play equipment such as swings and slides, is particularly worrying.’

The study also found that the contamination is thought to have developed due to councils’ ‘widespread use’ of the weedkiller in public spaces, given that the playgrounds included in the tests were not situated near agricultural fields.

Although 45% of local authorities are working to limit or stop their use of the weedkiller, most are still applying it in public spaces such as parks and pavements.

Hackney was the only area in which glyphosate and its breakdown product were not found in playgrounds.

Professor Michael Antoniou, a specialist in Molecular Genetics and Toxicology at Kings College London, said: ‘The assertion by Government regulators that glyphosate is “safe” does not stand up to latest scientific scrutiny, which shows that a “safe” dose of glyphosate is, at present, unknown.

‘Thus, all efforts should be made to reduce glyphosate herbicide use in both agricultural and urban settings, and to eliminate unnecessary routes of exposure, especially for children.’

The charity has recommended that all councils partake in its ‘three-year phase out plan’, which aims to support local authorities in eliminating the use of all pesticides.

Campaigners are also calling for a nationwide ban on pesticides in public spaces, while Sian Berry MP has tabled a Bill to propose that councils in England forgo pesticide use.