Environmental protection officers are hot on the trail of fly-tippers who turned a rural beauty spot near Oxford into an eyesore.

They are now in the process of gathering evidence which could lead to the prosecution of those responsible for the latest case of illegal dumping, at the side of a country lane leading to the village of Cuddesdon three weeks ago.

Builders' waste was dumped on a roadside verge at a gap in the hedge which offers spectacular views across the Vale of Aylesbury.

Local people saw the tipping taking place at around 8pm on Saturday, July 31, and took a note of the registration number of the vehicle being used.

Later John Lambley, bursar at Ripon College in Cuddesdon, carried out his own investigation, and searching the rubbish, found a letter connecting it with a house in Headington, Oxford.

Following up his lead, he made inquiries and discovered the spoil had come from a property being refurbished by private landlords before being re-let to new tenants.

Mr Lambley, who had become increasingly concerned at the frequency of such incidents at the spot, placed a sign at the tipping site 'naming and shaming' those he believed responsible as a joint investigation was launched by the Environment Agency and South Oxfordshire District Council.

A district council spokesman said: "We provided the Environment Agency with the information given to us about the flytipping, to enable them to carry out an investigation as the authority with the power to prosecute perpetrators of flytipping."

An agency spokesman also confirmed that witness statements were now in the process of being gathered with a view to taking action.

He said: "The way to minimise the risk of prosecution for anyone planning to have waste removed is for them to make sure they use registered disposal contractors, and then to have consignment notes, or receipts, to show it has been disposed of legally."

Mr Lambley, who has been bursar at the theological college for 10 years, and who describes himself as a conscientous supporter of the local environment, said the buck should not just stop with taking action against the people carrying out fly-tipping.

"People who pay others to simply get ride of waste on their behalf and not demand a receipt to show it has been properly disposed of are just washing their hands of it and are equally responsible," he said.