Determined Langley firefighters faced a mountain of obstacles as they battled to control a blaze in a field in Hollow Hill Lane, Iver last night.

An irresponsible fly tipper had dumped a mountain of builders' waste, roof tiles, iron gutter pipes and corrugated cement asbestos.

Firefighters had to use water to damp down the potentially lethal particles from the cement as they battled the dangerous blaze between 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

The waste had been dumped in some bushes and may have been deliberately set alight.

Watch manager Andy Gibbons said the firefighters had a problem as the field had been secured in an attempt to defeat fly tippers and the men could not get their engine on site.

He said: "We had top walk down the towpath carrying a light portable pump, which is not that light and get water from the canal."

He condemned the irresponsible tippers who dumped the dangerous material.