A MAN has called for action over piles of smelly rubbish piled in his neighbour's "cluttered" garden.

Robert Morris, 73, of Cricket Road, East Oxford, has repeatedly contacted Oxford City Council's environmental health department asking for the rubbish to be cleared - only to be told there is nothing it can do.

Mr Morris, who has lived in the house all his life, said: "Ever since my neighbour moved in eight years ago, there has been more and more rubbish.

"It is an absolute tip, and in the summer the smell is terrible out there.

"It has made me very stressed and unwell. I would just like it to be cleared up."

Mr Morris first contacted the council in 2006 and has a string of correspondence relating to the complaint.

He also said he had seen a number of rodents.

Although the neighbour denies the vermin have come from his garden, he has agreed for rat poison to be left out.

Mr Morris said: "I feel it is a health hazard.

"You don't know what's lying underneath it all. Some of the things have been there for a while and I think rats and mice are nesting there."

Linda Elms, neighbourhood watch co-ordinator for Howard Street and Cricket Road, said she had also contacted the city council.

She added: "East Oxford is being allowed to become an eyesore and a danger to residents' health."

Council spokesman Annette Cunningham said environmental health officers and planning officers had visited the property on several occasions.

She said: "We have found the garden to have a collection of miscellaneous items, which are unsightly.

"However, there is no food waste present and the garden does not pose a health risk."

Ms Cunningham said that while the garden was cluttered, it was not serious enough to take enforcement action.

She said: "We have tried to resolve the matter by writing to the occupier, requesting that he clear his garden, however, to date, he has failed to co-operate.

"The house is privately owned, and in the present circumstances our powers are limited and we are unable to take formal action."

John McNaney, an architect who owns the property and works from home, said he was in the process of clearing the area.

He said: "I am a very busy man. I have agreed to do it and I have been hampered by the weather.

"The council have come and looked, and agreed there were no rats there. However, I have agreed to let them put rat poison down."