Homeowners say their lives are being blighted by rats, flies and terrible smells thanks to a 25,000 tonne mountain of illegal dumped rubbish.

The two-acre dump on Bolton House Road, Bickershaw, Wigan, Manchester., holds over 25,000 tonnes of rubbish including black bin bags full of household rubbish like nappies as well as harmful chemicals and plastics.

Disgruntled locals say a procession of lorries carrying waste to the site which piled rubbish up to 20 metres high over several months began in January.

A number of householders claim there was reluctance by the authorities to intervene when they first complained at the beginning of this year.

But Wigan Council has since taken action successfully applying for two closure order following a fire - which was declared as a major incident - that broke out at the dump in July.

One resident, who did not want to be identified, said: "It's absolutely horrible here. "

"For about three weeks in January, there were 20 to 30 18-wheel articulated lorries full of waste going to the yard, the scrap having been moved to fields nearby, and it just piled higher and higher."

"Eventually the site was so full that the deliveries became a trickle. "

"We were told this is just a ‘transfer station' and it would soon be moved to the correct location, but nothing was. "

"In fact they pushed the waste further to back to pile it even higher to get even more rubbish in."

Another resident said: "It's been terrible. We've had rats and lots of flies, and no-one has given a damn until recently."

"We've had big wagons dumping stuff like nappies, black bin rubbish, chemicals and plastic."

Following the outcry from residents Wigan Council have took action against the dump, successfully applying for a closure order on July 18 this year, preventing any further waste deposits at the site.

It came after the fire that broke out at the location in early July, which took Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue (GMFRS) a number of days to tackle until it was fully extinguished on July 10.

The order means that currently the only people permitted onto the site are one of the landowners and representatives of organisations such as the Environment Agency.

The council have told that the order is being enforced by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and any breach of the closure order is a criminal offence.

This comes as the Environment Agency (EA) opened "significant and complex criminal investigation" into the dump following the fire."

The EA said they have visited the site, in partnership with the Council and GMP, and has "started interviewing individuals under caution"."

It said it has identified several "sites, people, and companies where the waste may have originated from or that may have been involved in the movement of the waste"."

The EA also revealed they have also sent out several formal notices to those parties with an interest in the land at Bolton House Road requiring the waste to be removed.

It is understood the cost of removing the waste could amount to £4.5m.

Following the current ongoing investigation, the Wigan Council returned to the Magistrates Court on October 17 and successfully applied for the closure order to be extended by the maximum period of a further three months.

They also applied for a variation to the order, to increase the area that the closure will cover.

A Wigan Council spokesperson, said: "We recognise the impact this waste site is having on those living nearby and our top priority is to ensure those residents feel heard and safe while the Environment Agency carries out their investigation which is being supported by a multiagency recovery group."

"We want the site to be cleared as a matter of urgency and are continuing to work with the Environment Agency to sample the waste and manage the environmental impacts so the landowners- who are the responsible parties- can progress this as soon as possible." "

Josh Simons, Labour MP for Makerfield, said: "I've been clear with residents – it's incomprehensible that this rubbish was allowed to pile up and that it has still not been removed."

"I'm very pleased that the first section of the waste should be removed very soon."

"I will not stop fighting to get this sorted and to stop this from ever happening again."

The Environment Agency has been approached for further comment.