If you penetrate the heap at the bottom, I'm pretty sure you'll find some usable compost in there, Liznic - bacteria, etc., aren't a worry, although weed seeds might be, given the way your heap's been operating, it won't have got hot enough to kill off weed seeds. The bacteria present is going to be beneficial to your soil, in fact. The other thing to watch out for is wildlife -hedgehogs often use heaps like this as homes, so don't inadvertently kill them off.

Wow that was a quick reply! Thank you very much! I read a horror story of a man who inhaled spores and died of Aspergillosis after opening bags of rotten garden leaves, Guardian June13th 2008 Am just wondering about the welfare of the person who moves my heap if I do get it moved. Anyway thank you for your swift response Liznic

Aspergillus spores are common in the environment and normally only pose a threat to people with pre-existing lung disease or damage. The spores are large enough to be trapped by a common face mask if the remover wanted to wear one, to be sure, but I don't think it would be necessary to anyone of normal health and immunity.

Ooer, didn't know about that - but it stands to reason that an open heap is less likely to be dangerous than a sealed bag full of something rotting nastily - I always poke holes in the bags at the bottom, fill up with leaves, add water and then tie them up and leave them to rot down. I'm still here...

And how many people die from tetanus caught from Rose thorns? But it does not stop folks growing roses. I think that you will find that a lot of the heap will be perfectly good usable compost and that the risk to anyone moving it is negligible. Hope so, I am about to open up and use our non-compost heap which has been covered over for about 5 years. Let you know if I contract anything nasty. :)

Its amazing, but most of the time, we all get away with these things - I've been pruning roses for over 30 years, and always getting cuts, grazes, scratches, thorns, etc., but only once in all that time did I end up with something serious, and from the teeniest, tiniest, barely visible scratch. Fortunately, it was on my forearm, so I quickly picked up that it didn't look right - it was cellulitis, but all the other times, nothing serious happened.

Thank you very much Bamboo, Beattie and Owdboggy, I can clearly see how this kind of social networking could become addictive, I've never understood the attraction ........up to now, it could be quite a laugh, as well as educational.The trouble is I should be outside now, working in my third of an acre wilderness,largely neglected for fourteen years, while I have been living abroad. So it's garden here I come!!!! Bye

Enjoy!

You've put it very clearly Liznic! It is a laugh - and educational. :-D