INVERCLYDE'S MSP has demanded an immediate halt to all work on a £15 million social housing development on the toxic former Ravenscraig Hospital site.

Stuart McMillan's dramatic intervention comes after a Police Scotland Economic Crime Unit investigation was widened to include a probe into the plethora of poisons lurking within the ground.

Mr McMillan says the now six month-long police inquiry, coupled with the 'mess' around a last-minute pedestrian crossing, led him to 'lose confidence' in the contentious project.

The MSP declared: "As has been reported in the Greenock Telegraph, Police Scotland are currently looking into the Ravenscraig development.

"This concerns me and should concern everyone.

"Police Scotland do not investigate every proposed housing development."

The Telegraph can reveal that the specialist officers have now sought advice from world renowned scientist Professor Andrew Watterson regarding the confirmed 'multiple exceedances' of potential killer chemicals on the sprawling 83-acre estate.

Professor Watterson last year rubbished an untrue claim by developer Link Group Ltd that the contaminants were 'not leachable, or soluble and will not migrate horizontally'.

Meanwhile, a planned pedestrian crossing with a 'refuge island' in the middle of the busy A78 trunk road — essential for the development to proceed — has been moved to a location previously deemed dangerous by Link's own engineers, WYG.

Transport Scotland conducted a road safety audit and approved the new position within hours, in a move the Scottish Government agency said would not disrupt the housing development's timescale.

Link failed to consult householders about the original location for the crossing, which was branded a 'death trap' by local resident and anti-Ravenscraig campaigner Alan Cumming.

WYG principal engineer Emma Towle cautioned in July against the new location.

In an email sent to Transport Scotland area manager Neil Lang, Ms Towle stated that there were 'issues that would cause serious concern on a road safety audit', adding: "This is not a proposal that WYG would recommend."

MSP Mr McMillan now wants all work at Ravenscraig to 'cease' until the police investigation has been concluded.

He said: "Two recent events about this project have made me seriously question whether this development should proceed.

"Firstly, the shambles and complete lack of consultation that occurred with regards to the pedestrian refuge island.

"If such a mess can happen around such a small element of this project, I am concerned about what could lie ahead."

Mr McMillan's second major concern is the ongoing police investigation.

In an email to campaigner Pamela Harris, who organised a recent protest rally in Branchton against the development, the MSP said: "These two factors together have resulted in me losing confidence in this project.

"As such, until the Police Scotland investigation has concluded, I would wish for all activities on site to cease, apart from the road re-alignment which needs to be concluded."

We asked Inverclyde Council to comment on Mr McMillan's call for the development to be stopped in its tracks, but the local authority did not acknowledge our approach.

Police Scotland confirmed that its Ravenscraig investigation remains live.

The Scottish Government says the land transfer was conducted 'in accordance with all due process'.