A FIRE outside a Radcliffe mill is still smouldering - nearly two weeks after it began.

The 6ft-deep pile of rubbish, which includes rags and shoes, first caught light at on Friday, January 26, outside Pioneer Mill in Milltown Street, which now houses several businesses.

Flames also reached a redundant electricity pylon and firefighters from Whitefield and Bury fire stations spent more than 40 hours tackling the fire that weekend.

The rubbish has continued to smoulder ever since and crews from Whitefield have had to return to the site several times to make sure the fire does not get out of hand.

A fire service investigation found the blaze had been started deliberately.

Crew manager Rick Taylor, said: "The pile of rubbish is so deep it needs to be moved by machinery. We have been monitoring the situation to make sure it doesn't get any worse."

Efforts to get the rubbish cleared have faltered because mystery surrounds the identity of the owner of the land.

Last Friday, Bury Council posted an enforcement notice on the site calling on the land's owner to clear the rubbish by tomorrow or face action.

The council has searched the land registry to find out who owns the land, but without success.

If the rubbish is still there tomorrow, council enforcement officers will clear the rubbish with help of firefighters and then seek to identify and bill the owner for the work.