Fly-tipped waste and a trailer dumped outside a Buckinghamshire town have caused concerns for drivers.

Rubbish left in a layby outside Gerrards Cross and near Chalfont St Peter has still not been cleared months after it was dumped.

A 13m articulated lorry trailer remains parked opposite the junction with Mumfords Lane on the A40 Oxford Road.

It was abandoned there in April, according to reports on Buckinghamshire Council’s ‘Fix My Street’ service.

The council’s cabinet member for climate change and environment Thomas Broom told the Bucks Free Press: “This is a disgraceful act of fly-tipping on an industrial scale and there is also a criminal investigation underway due to the offences that have been committed, being led by the Environment Agency.

“Ultimately, we hope these vehicles and their contents will finally be cleared in the coming weeks and we continue to work towards bringing to justice those who have dumped these trucks in what is an horrendous environmental crime.”

An email from council leader Martin Tett in relation to the situation, seen by the Free Press, says ‘he will need to see what the council can legally do’ in relation to the fly-tipping.

He also writes: “It may require change to national law in which case local members of parliament would need to be involved.”

Cllr Broom said there were a total of five abandoned vehicles, including the trailer, and removing them was a ‘complex operation’ due in part to them not being roadworthy.

He said: “Removal has taken much longer than we would want, because the waste material inside the abandoned vehicles has had to be sampled and tested for contaminants, and a specialist removal contractor employed.”

The cabinet member said lane closures would be required to clear the vehicles, which will ‘hopefully’ happen in the next few weeks and that the situation has been further exacerbated by ‘potentially unrelated fly tips at the locations’.

The trailer, which has waste spilling out of its rear doors, is parked in between council ‘no fly tipping signs’, which say there is CCTV in the area to catch fly-tippers.

Next to it is a separate pile of fly-tipped waste surrounded by traffic cones, which was reported to the council in November.

The waste, some of which is blowing onto the A40, includes fibreglass, corrugated roof panels, wood, a door, packaging, beer cans and a mattress.

A resident who reported the trailer in May claimed its roof had been cut out, potentially allowing water to seep in.

They said: “My concern is the trailer will fill with water potentially causing a failure in structural integrity, ultimately causing danger for the road users.”

Another resident’s report last week warned the rubbish could be ‘hazardous’ and it blowing into the road may ‘cause an obstruction’.

In August, the council said an order had been raised to resolve the issue, with a ‘permanent repair to be carried out as soon as possible’.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Our investigation into this incident continues and whilst this is ongoing, we will not be commenting further for legal reasons.

“Anyone who has any information about this incident is urged to contact our 24-hour incident hotline, on 0800 807060, or Crimestoppers, in confidence on 0800 555111.”