Villagers in Cullingworth expressed their anger at a lack of action over the restoration of a controversial waste tip that was closed eight months ago.

Around 60 villagers heard that Bradford council and the Environment Agency have yet to recover any of the £375,000 needed to restore the Manywells Landfill Site.

The money was held in a bond by the Environment Agency and the former licence holder of Manywells tip, Hillridge .

It is hoped that all or part of the money will be used towards the cost - estimated at £750,000 - of making the site good.

Hillridge and Wastepoint, which owned the land, went into voluntary liquidation in November and disclaimed both the site and the section 106 agreement - the legal agreement listing planning conditions.

The Environment Agency, with the support of Bradford council, wants to recoup the money, but will face a challenge from joint liquidators when the case goes to the High Court.

Bradford council legal representative Tim Ayres told residents that the land was now owned by the Crown and that the Environment Agency currently had no powers to enforce the agreement.

He told residents that while the Environment Agency continued to pump leachate from the site the tip could not be designated a special site and taken under government control.

"If the pumping ceased there could be leachate run-off to Manywells Beck, and if that happens then it will become a special site and it may fall to the Environment Agency to deal with that contamination problem," said Mr Ayres.

He added that the council had applied for funding to help with the restoration.

Residents accused the Environment Agency of negligence and claim the site was never managed properly.

They say the agreement drawn up in the first place didn't allow for the possibility of the licence operator going into liquidation, even though Bradford council had been warned that the operator had done exactly the same thing in Calderdale around 10 years ago.

Residents also claim the agency has absolved itself of any responsibility over the tip and walked away from all the problems.

Villagers believe the site is an increasing health hazard, and are concerned it may now be used for the illegal tipping of hazardous waste.

Chris George, from Turf Lane, said the number of flies and smell of gas emanating from the site were at times overpowering.

Ann McGowan, of Manor Gardens, said she and her husband Jack had killed 28 bluebottles in their home in just one afternoon a few days ago.

In response, Stuart Jenkinson from the Environment Agency said there had been no recent calls from villagers about these problems and urged villagers to report any concerns.