Residents have been left furious after a huge 32ft mountain of rubbish was dumped near their homes — and has now grown so tall it looms over their properties.

Homeowners say the festering eyesore has left their housing estate looking like a ‘Third World slum’ after the site became a dumping ground two years ago.

Since then, nothing has been done to rectify the problem and the towering pile of waste has now grown higher than nearby trees and houses.

Shocking pictures show stacks of household rubbish including bin liners, mattresses, wooden pallets and scrap metal on Straight Road in Willenhall, West Midlands.

Neighbours are now calling for action to be taken amid fears for their health and concerns the enormous rat-infested mound is a fire risk.

Firefighters previously spent hours tackling a blaze at the site on the Arrow Industrial Estate when the rubbish broke out in flames last April.

Mum-of-two Gina Howells, 33, who lives nearby, said: ‘It’s not only a massive eyesore but a health and fire risk as well.

‘It absolutely stinks and we’ve seen rats running about. I’m worried for the health of my children and don’t understand how it has been allowed to grow this big.

‘Surely, somebody is responsible for it, but the council and Environment Agency haven’t done anything about it so far.

‘It’s left our area looking like a Third World slum. There’s already been one fire, what if it happens again and spreads to our homes?’

Another resident dad-of-one Lewy Watton, 30, a security officer, added: ‘I’m probably the closest, I’m in a flat that looks directly on to the canal.

‘The last time it went up in flames I went out on to my balcony and it was red hot, so I’m quite close, probably 20metres away.

‘If it goes up in flames again, it could be an issue because it’s even bigger now and the heat that came off it last time was ridiculous.

‘It smells all the time and it’s an eyesore, it’s quite bad and not very nice to look at. Usually, it’s all greenery and trees but it’s beyond the height of the trees and there’s all sorts of scrap.

‘Parents with children have to walk past on their way to school and it’s the first thing they see in the morning outside their houses.

‘It’s not nice to walk out and look at and it needs to be moved.’

Kully Kaur, who owns a neighbouring business park, added: ‘I’m not sure exactly what permit they have been given to be doing this.

‘We have been in touch with the Environment Agency, the council, we’re not getting any joy — we’re getting a slight response, but we can’t see any action being taken.

‘It is a massive danger in itself. We would really need that moved away.’

Crane company Wolverhampton Lifting is the occupier of the site where the waste has been stored and says it is trying to rectify the issue.

Director Steven Cookson said: ‘I have faced the issue and, although the problem is not mine, we are trying to rectify it.

‘I have told the Environment Agency I will sort the problem if they will help me.’

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of waste being stored at a site next to the Alvar Business Park in Willenhall.

‘We’re currently investigating the activities at this site.’

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