RESIDENTS of Heatherlands in Headley Down have been warned not to panic after a warning was circulated, sparking fears that bonfires could start underground fires.
At a meeting on the estate last week, residents were told that there was a slight possibility of an underground fire being caused by a bonfire because of methane gas escaping from the playing fields.
The playing fields were built on an old landfill site in the mid-70s and ever since small quantities of methane, produced by the decomposing rubbish, have been leaking to the surface.
However, East Hampshire District Council has urged residents not to blow concerns out of proportion, and has said that the risk today is no greater than 20 years ago.
Council spokesman Steve Bradley said: "Certainly there is no greater risk now than there has been before.
"We have got to look at where you draw the line. Should we say that there is no risk, or a minimal risk?
"There is a risk that if you set a box of matches alight in your living room then you are going to burn your couch, and this is the same. There is always a minimal risk."
Mr Bradley said that the council, which owns the site, has been monitoring the seeping methane gas through the playing field surface.
However, he emphasised that the risk was a characteristic associated with all landfill sites.