Mystery still surrounds a huge mound of rubbish that has blighted Little Marlow for months and steadily grown in size.

Bucks County Council (BCC), Little Marlow Parish Council and Thames Water are all struggling to identify the landowner responsible for clearing the private section of land, after waste was repeatedly dumped outside Thames Water’s sewage treatment works.

The mound has been getting bigger, with residents describing it as a “daily dump”.

Sue Cooper said: “This is getting worse by the day. There are at least seven fridges/freezers [there].

“There is now over 20 tons which means it can be reported to the Environment Agency. There was/is food in some of those fridges which will attract rats etc. This is now becoming a daily dump. Something needs to be done.”

Valerie Brownridge, chairman of Little Marlow Parish Council, said Bucks County Council had tried to contact the landowner repeatedly but they had not responded and were not “engaging” with the council to resolve the issue.

She said: “He is not co-operating or communicating. The council has got some evidence and is trying to pursue the people who did the dumping – but it is really difficult to clear it as it is on private land. Residents are getting really upset about it. We are looking at what we can do as the parish council.

“It will be a huge cost to clear it up and we can’t afford a huge cost as a parish council. We don’t have huge amounts of money.

“It’s very frustrating for everyone - it’s not pleasant. It’s a big issue for us.”

BCC said officers are continuing to investigate the fly-tipping at the Little Marlow site and will soon bring a case to High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court.

Spokesman Neil Phillips said: “The waste itself is off the highway, on private land, and this means it is the responsibility of the landowner to arrange clearance.

“BCC will support landowners in this where appropriate and can seek a court order for clean-up compensation to be paid to them [but] unfortunately, we have been unable to reach the owner of Little Marlow site, meaning our efforts to see it cleared have so far been hampered.

“Clearance of the site without the landowner’s involvement would be a matter for our district council colleagues to consider.

“We continue to work with Thames Valley Police and the Environment Agency over the increased dumping here since December.

“We are pursuing several positive lines of enquiry to identify both the party who illegally dumped the waste and the party who produced it, and who may have failed to make the required checks when obtaining waste carriers.”

A Thames Water spokesman said the authority could not comment as the land does not belong to it, adding: “We’re working with Buckinghamshire County Council, Wycombe District Council and Thames Valley Police to find those responsible.”