The dumping of hazardous electronic waste is a serious problem in Ghana with tens of millions of televisions, computers and mobile phones being discarded every year.

Poor countries are increasingly finding themselves awash with e-waste graveyards, filled with unwanted items shipped over from rich western countries.

Technically, in nearly ever European country it is illegal to dump e-waste, but you can send such equipment abroad if it is labelled as "second hand" or as a "donation".

This loophole allows some unscrupulous traders to send old and obsolete machines in bulk to places such as Ghana.

In Agbogbloshie, a dump site outside the capital Accra, old monitors and computer software from the West are abandoned without proper disposal methods.

Amid the vast sprawl of glass, plastic and metal, children and teenagers pick through the waste looking for anything useful that can be salvaged and sold.

One of the most common practices is to recover the tiny quantities of copper, iron and gold that many of these discarded items contain.

In order to get to it, the youngsters, most of whom are between 13-17 years old, must first burn the plastic coatings of the wires.

The recovered red hot metal is then doused in water to cool it down.

At every step, this dangerous process, which is carried out with crude tools and no protective gear, releases toxic gases that can cause respiratory difficulties, eczema and stomach complaints.

In order to fuel the fires they need, many of the youngsters burn old tyres and other rubbish.

This only adds further to the thick cloud of toxic smoke that hangs over the area and its surroundings.

It is little wonder then that it is not only the young workers who fall sick. The very ground around them also becomes contaminated.

When animals come to graze on the grass they ingest these toxins, which are then passed onto people when they eat meat from the slaughtered cattle.

MUST CREDIT PHOTOS BY: Sipa Press / Rex Features