WORRIED residents of Sandy Hill expressed their concern on Wednesday following sightings of men in decontamination suits spraying the heathland next to the estate. The land, managed by the MOD and used as an Army training area for troops based in Aldershot, has been undergoing a heathland management project since late last year. Under the control of Defence Estates, a company which manages land owned by the MOD in Britain, the project consisted of scrub and tree clearance during November 2005 and February 2006. However, spraying the land without warning has led to concern among many residents who use the site regularly and who fear for their safety. Gale Hall, of Sandy Hill Road, walks her dog three times a day on the land and also goes running there. "We had absolutely no notice of this going on and now I don't think we can walk on the common," she claimed. "Spraying all of the bracken with poison makes me very concerned for the wildlife and I thought it was a wildlife conservation area. If I hadn't been told by a friend of mine before I went out this morning then my dog could have got ill and I wouldn't have known why. "We haven't been told how long it's going to go on for or when it will be safe to walk there." Cliff Duwing, of Macdonald Road, echoed comments made by Mrs Hall. "I saw them doing it this morning at about 8-30 am and thought that it must be something toxic because they were wearing white suits," he said. "If I hadn't seen them then I could have been walking on the land that they had sprayed." He went on to say that he walks there twice a day and believes that the bracken is "natural vegetation" and that "to kill it all off can't be in the best interests of conservation". However, Defence Estates have stated that the "widespread encroachment of trees, scrub and bracken onto the heath in recent years needs to be halted to prevent succession from open heathland to woodland." Jonathan Gaton, senior estate surveyor for the heathland, sought to reassure those who use the area. "The bracken spraying is part of the ongoing management project and the spray used is a recognised herbicide which is harmless to people and their dogs," he said. "It's also harmless to the rest of the wildlife on the heathland but there should be signs up to warn residents as this will be continuing on a daily basis. "It's a perfectly safe operation that's been done every year somewhere on the estate. The bracken is an invasive weed that needs to be controlled. "I will ask Landmark to put up notices telling the public that the spray is non-toxic and that it is perfectly safe to walk dogs on the site."