RESIDENTS in Dalgety Bay have again been warned to keep away from the fenced-off area of the beach.

Investigation work currently being carried out into radioactive contamination on the Bay's shoreline has confirmed the need for the area to be blocked off to the public.

However, some people have started to ignore the 'keep out' warning signs and are entering the contaminated area.

The radioactive particles on the beach are believed to have come from dismantled aircraft from the former Donibristle RAF base.

The Disposal of Radioactive Waste report written in 1958 warned of "undesirably high levels of radiation" at sites where aircraft were scrapped.

Dr Paul Dale, principal policy officer for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said, "Although the findings of the work have yet to be collated, they reinforced the ongoing need for the measures currently in place to protect the public and have shown that no further precautions are deemed necessary.

"If people follow the advice on the signs and stay out of the demarcated area, where high activity sources have previously been found, then any risk to the public is low.

" We are aware that some people have started to use the demarcated area and we would stress that this is cordoned off for their protection." Meanwhile it has emerged that the programme to tackle the contamination blight at the Bay is running up to eight weeks behind schedule.

SEPA say that a delay in beginning the physical investigations and the longer time required to complete these, it is likely that the original deadline for completion of the inspection - scheduled for the end of May - may have to be extended by around six to eight weeks.

Dr Dale said, "While we fully appreciate that any delay in this process is undesirable, we are pleased that the physical work has been completed to our satisfaction.

The physical work being carried out by the Ministry of Defence as part of SEPA's investigation has been successfully completed.

A written report on the findings will be made available to SEPA in the New Year, which will form part of the agency's overall assessment of the site. SEPA was on site throughout the works.

The work, which involved digging 106 trial pits, was carried out to determine the extent and location of the contamination.

The Dalgety Bay contamination is widely believed to have come from paint used on aircraft instruments which were disposed of at the former RAF airfield.

Coastal erosion continues to result in contaminated particles being found on the shore.