A St Albans dad has voiced fears over a cancer-linked herbicide being used by contractors outside council homes. Phil Fletcher, 72, raised the alarm over the glyphosate-based herbicide, which the borough council's contractor John O'Conner has been spraying outside his flat in Malthouse Court. Research has linked it to increasing some cancers by more than 40 per cent, according to studies by the University of Washington, and it is also thought to be harmful for organisms such as earthworms and bees. Phil, who lives on his own in a one bedroom flat, said he and his neighbours are "angry" that the herbicide is still being used, and he is among a group who is campaigning to get it banned in the UK.