Piles of rat-infested rubbish were left outside the garages of a number of homes in Marlow for almost two months.

The "illegal dumping" had been left outside the Peacock Road garages owned by Red Kite Community Housing for around seven weeks according to angry residents.

The daughter of an elderly couple, who asked to remain anonymous, is an unpaid carer for her parents and visits her parents who live next to the garages daily.

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After reporting it on FixMyStreet, sending emails, calling Red Kite, the waste department and the council she took to Facebook to see if she could get the number for Environmental Health.

She said: "There were rats, it was horrible, every so often you would see the rats running around.

"I don’t know if it was the rats or other animals but they had pulled the bags apart to eat the inside.

"It was all rotten food, the smell was horrible.

"My parent's back garden is just the other side of the garages.

"It was horrible how close they were, they have been panicking about going into their garden."

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The rubbish has since been cleared up but the daughter believes fly-tipping has become a "reoccurring" problem in the area. 

She continued: "It’s household items, it's not like you can’t take it to the tip.

"It’s stuff that could go in your black bin, it’s so lazy."

The council has launched an investigation and said it will "not hesitate" in taking action.

Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment said: “Buckinghamshire Council is currently working with Red Kite to investigate this illegal dumping and will not hesitate to take enforcement action against the perpetrators should enough evidence be found to prosecute.”

Julie Gamble-Kempe, Head of Communications and Brand at Red Kite Community Housing, said: “It’s very sad to see the fly-tipping that is affecting our community.  Unfortunately, tenants are suffering due to the inconsiderate actions of others.

“We take fly-tipping seriously and once we’ve established that the fly-tipped waste is on our land we aim to remove it within 24-hours, but some more serious issues may take up to five working days. We will work with the Council to take appropriate legal action and to recharge those responsible for illegally dumping waste, where they are identified.

“Buckinghamshire Council asked us to remove this waste on Tuesday 5th April. The waste was removed on Monday 11th April, so this was within our time 5-day frame. We understand that issues like this are frustrating for people, but we are happy that this job was completed in line with our policy.

“Between April to September last year, we spent £20,666 on clearing up 400 cases of fly-tipping and over £155,652 on litter picking. This is money that could have been used to re-fit 45 bathrooms or 39 kitchens!

“We therefore ask that everyone discards their waste responsibly.”