COUNCIL bosses were warned a wood chip pile was dangerous 18 months before it was engulfed by 60ft flames, a resident says.

Dennis Bodimeade, 72, of Cranleigh Gardens, Hull-bridge, last year told Rochford District Council he believed the heap of timber flakes in Hall Road, Rochford, posed a serious risk.

The wood chip pile, which was in the garden of a man who runs a tree-cutting business, caught fire on Friday.

Eleven fire crews spent hours battling the blaze, before deciding it was best to let it burn out over the course of this week.

But Mr Bodimeade, who spotted the chip pile as he drove past, said council chiefs should have acted sooner to prevent the incident.

He added: “I have been complaining to the council since I noticed how high the pile was, some 18 months ago.

“It just seems mad the council did not attempt to make it safer.

“It was an accident waiting to happen, and now that accident has happened.”

Rochford District Council’s head of environmental services, Richard Evans, said officials had receieved “inquiries about the issue” and passed them on to “relevant agencies” at the time. The council later confirmed the complaint had been passed to the Health and Safety Executive.

Graham Goodale, the land owner, said he had never had complaints about the pile. However, he added complaints had come in the past about other fires on neighbouring land.

Mr Goodale said: “A former neighbour used to have a large fire every day for a couple of months, but they moved out and the fires stopped.

“We did have someone phone and complain about the burning and smoke, but they were fine after we pointed out it was not taking place on our property.”

Mr Goodale, who runs Inter County Tree Service, in Hall Road, said the inferno caused him to lose thousands of pounds worth of machinery which was not insured.

He added: “I lost two of the large, earthmoving machines and a third has been badly damaged.

"Over the years it would have cost me so much in insurance premiums that I have just had to accept the loss myself.”

Firefighters are still attending the scene as they allow the fire to burn out. The Echo repeatedly approached the Health and Safety Executive, but it would not comment.