IT has been a battle that has taken four years to fight, but finally work has begun to remove waste dumped on Green Belt land.

In 2003 the owner of Blunts Farm in Theydon Bois began illegally using the golf course site for landfill, and up to 300 HGV lorries thundered through the quiet village everyday, dumping thousands of cubic metres of waste.

Campaigners from Theydon Bois Action Group (TBAG) fought for enforcement action to be taken, and Epping Forest District Council agreed two years ago to give until October 2009 for the site to be returned to normal.

Just four months before the deadline, work has begun and the diggers have arrived to start the enormous task of filling in the holes.

But a spokeswoman from TBAG said they were doubtful the work would be complete by October.

She added: “It looks like the site may be at least safe by the compliance date of 17th October 2009.

"EFDC have agreed a methodology and have confirmed that they will be monitoring the situation closely.

"There will be some noise, dust and possibly some unpleasant smell, but hopefully that will be a small price to pay.”

The area of land is easy to access and it has been reported that teenagers have recently been using the large pits on the site to swim and row boats.

TBAG member Mike Emmett said: “Last year there were children swimming in the pits, the fences are down and with the summer holidays coming up it's a dangerous place.

"We are delighted that after so many years and such a long fight that it appears that the land is going to be restored something towards it's former glory.

"I don't suppose it will be complete by October, but the sooner those pits are filled in the better.”

A spokeswoman from the district council confirmed the work being carried out was to comply with enforcement notices relating to the land.

She added: “The notices require the infilling of excavations on the land with material already on the land by 17 October 2009.

"They also prohibit importing to the land fill material of any description. Failure to comply with the requirements of the notices is an offence.”

Owner of Blunts Farm Phil Newman was unavailable to comment.