A 6ft-high pile of car parts, rubble and waste has turned a Girlington back street into a "junk heap", say residents.

Householders who look out onto the yard of the house in Agar Terrace say their lives are being made a misery by the eyesore which also includes two sofas and a derelict car.

Now the neighbours are demanding action from Bradford Council after they spotted rats on the street.

"It's like looking out onto a scrap heap. There is no wall or fence in the yard so all the junk is just spilling out onto the street," said Margaret Ayres, whose home in Willow Street looks out onto the house.

"It's like living next door to a junk heap and it's not very pleasant looking out of your window and seeing that.

"It really is ridiculous. It's not just a bit of rubbish - it's piled up to the windows of the house. If anyone lived there, they wouldn't be able to see out or get in the back door.

"The house has been empty about a month and it's just been left to rot. The final straw came when we saw the rats."

One resident, who did not want to be named, said she was trying to sell her house but prospective buyers were being put off by the rubbish.

"I keep showing people round but, as soon as they look out the back windows and see the yard across the alley, they just don't want to know," she said.

"It's disgusting. I don't let my children play out round the back any more because it's a health hazard."

The residents said the house was rented out by a landlord to a tenant but they had not been able to trace the owner. "I've been round there every day, we've put notes through the door trying to trace the landlord but we never see anyone," said Mrs Ayres. "We're just hoping the council will be able to find the owner and get something done."

A spokesperson for Bradford Council said: "We have traced the owner of the house in Agar Terrace, following complaints about rubbish piling up in the garden, and are in the process of serving a notice requiring him to clear any noxious rubbish."

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