A 20,000-tonne pile of rubbish at the end of a quiet south east London cul-de-sac which was like "living next to rotting corpses" is finally being cleared after years.
Neighbours said the 60ft-wide litter heap on the former Waste4Fuel site in Orpington created a "living nightmare" due to its horrific smells.
They also described how it was infested with rats which would regularly run into their gardens.
The rotten pile had been left to fester for several years, creating a risk which saw fire crews regularly sent out to tackle hotspots which would erupt into flames.
But in August last year, Bromley Council brokered a deal between the Environment Agency and the site owners to secure the future ownership of the site as well as enable access to allow the clearance to be carried out by contractors Veolia.
Jan Watkins, 62, a grandmother-of-two who lives nearby, praised the work to clear the site.
She said: "They seem to be getting on with it. Visually it looks as if it's half gone, the top half was narrower than the top half.
"It looks like they are making really good progress.
"They are doing a good job. Our biggest fear was that the smell would be really bad, the smells have been hardly noticeable.
“I was expecting the worst; they seem to have control of the fires - was an anxiety going through my mind.
"I haven't been plagued by rats as I feared. Things have improved considerably.
"They are doing a terrific job, I am really pleased with the contractors."
She said local residents hoped that once the clearance work had been completed, the site could be turned into a visitor centre and car park providing access to the nearby Ruxley lakes.
Additional reporting from Press Association.
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