A “disgusting” area of High Wycombe that is piled high with rubbish and discarded furniture needs to be sorted out before it becomes a health hazard, a councillor has warned.

A piece of land owned by Bucks County Council next to Youthspace on Desborough Street has become a fly-tipping hotspot, with mattresses, shopping trolleys and sofas among the piles of waste dumped there.

Cllr Sebert Graham, who represents the Oakridge and Castlefield ward at Wycombe District Council has been urging Bucks County Council to sort out the mess since September along with his colleagues Cllr Mohammed Asif and Cllr Mohammed Hanif – but has yet to see any improvement made there.

The site is also believed to have a problem with Japanese knotweed, which needs to be removed by specialists.

Cllr Graham said: “It is disgusting and it is right next to a playground for children. It is a health hazard for the residents who live nearby and there will be rats here before long.”

A number of residents have been using the land to park their cars on – something which Cllr Graham also wants to see stop.

He said: “I first contacted Bucks County Council about the problem in September and it was agreed that action needed to be taken. A notice was going to be put up on the gates asking people to move their vehicles and once enough time had passed, the gates were going to be closed.

“It would stop people who are dumping rubbish from being able to get in. It is not a car park and people should not be parking there, but nothing has been done yet.

“I am disappointed. My calls and messages have gone unanswered by the county council. It seems like they do not care. If this was Marlow or Hazlemere, we wouldn’t have this problem.

“This will become a matter of public health. We will have vermin here. It is awful.”

Cllr Graham hopes once the area is cleared up, it could become a green space for residents to enjoy.

He added: “There is no green space in this part of High Wycombe. It would be nice to have that for residents.”

Bucks County Council has its own plans for the site in the long-term, but has yet to reveal what the area could be.

A county council spokesman said: “Buckinghamshire County Council, as landowner, is in the process of negotiating a short-term lease with Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust for use of the land as a car park.

“This will mean that the site will be cleared in the near future and then maintained on an ongoing basis.

“In the longer term, however, the council is looking at options for the site to be put to use for the wider benefit of the local community, though this process is still at an early stage.”