'Disgusting, SHAMEFUL shambles' Fury as mountain of waste will take LONGER to clear

And the snap election has meant more money to deal with the extra work has been put on hold.

The Environment Agency initially estimated there was 18,000-tonnes of rubbish at the site but now discovered the pile had 25,000-tonnes of densely packed waste.

The Waste4Fuel dump, which has long plagued homeowners in south east London, has already cost taxpayers almost £4 million, and costs are set to rise further.

Clearing began at the site in St Paul’s Cray near Bromley, south London, in November, but was halted in March after contaminated waste was found at the bottom of the pile.

The council said it now needs to secure more funding from the government to continue clearing the dump, which was infested with rats.

And they said this cannot happen until after the snap general election on June 8.

Leslie Easton, who lives nearby in Hollytree Parade, has been writing letters to councillors and MPs about the issue for several years.

After the most recent delay, he said: “It is an absolutely disgusting, shameful shambles.

“All that stuff is still blowing all over the schools and they have confirmed it is contaminated.

“I don’t open my windows at all, I don’t want to get any more of that stuff coming in.”

Bromley Council contracted Veolia to clear the 40 foot or 12-metre mountain of rubbish in November last year after brokering a deal with the Environment Agency and 16,000 tonnes of trash was cleared.

Between 2012 and August 2015, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) spent almost £1 million dealing with 233 incidents at the out-of-control rubbish mountain.

Waste4Fuel Ltd. was forced to pay £8,960 after the LFB condemned the company for stacking flammable materials 12 times higher than legal limits.

The company’s licence was revoked more than two years ago, but the towering stink-pile has remained stagnant due to legal disputes.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “The Environment Agency has provided £2.9m of funding to help clear the Waste 4 Fuel site.

“This has led to a significant site improvement and there is no longer a risk to the environment.

“We will support Bromley Council’s ongoing efforts to ensure the illegal waste is fully removed.

“This has been an extremely complex operation due to the size of the waste pile.

“It was only ever going to be possible to estimate the tonnage. The waste was found to be more dense than estimated.

“This could be due to a number of factors including decomposition and rainfall.”

Councillor Colin Smith, Deputy Leader of Bromley Council said: “We have written to local residents as part of our commitment to keep residents informed about the situation and we are hopeful work will resume fairly shortly.”