PARISH chiefs fear a major fire could break out amongst a huge illegal tyre dump at Ashfield with catastrophic results.

Romsey Extra Parish Council says the site off the A3057 south of Ashfield Bridge is a disaster waiting to happen.

Former owners of the Ashfield Sawmill site, Outline Waste Management Ltd, went into liquidation and talks are currently underway between the environment Agency and landowner in a bid to remove the mountain of rubber, which is estimated to be made up of 200,000 old tyres.

Parish council leader Rod Simpson said: "How this dump was allowed to become what it is now is difficult to understand but something has to be done to remove it. Left as it is, the safety risks are huge and these are made even worse by the lack of secure boundary fencing. The risks to neighbouring properties of the dump catching fire are unthinkable."

Borough planning and environment and health officials have tried to take action to reduce the number of tyres at the site but they came up against a wall of problems because the former owners were declared bankrupt.

Mr Simpson said there are serious safety issues at stake and the site is also a visual eyesore in open countryside.

A fire broke out amongst tyres at the site a couple of years ago. Borough planning boss Maddy Winter said her department was doing all it could to resolve the problem.

"Tyres have been stored on the site higher than they should have been. We are working where we can to solve the situation. We are satisfied it is safe as can be on the site and there is no danger to anyone. We are keeping the situation under review," said Mrs Winter.

And the Environment Agency's Dawn Theaker said: "Once the land ownership is sorted out we hope to get an agreement with the owner. The last thing the Environment Agency wants is the taxpayer being left to pay for the removal of the tyres. I can understand the concerns of the parish council. We are trying to encourage the landowner to remove all the wood and other materials on the site to reduce the risks of fire. Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and the local planners are involved in this process.

"It is a very big pile of tyres and it will be difficult to get rid of them. I think there are over 200,000 tyres on the site and they are a blight on the residents of Romsey. They could be incinerated or recycled in building projects."