Egg stench from landfill makes us ill - residents

Residents close to a landfill site say a smell like rotten eggs is making them ill

Residents living close to a landfill site say it is emitting a rotten egg smell that is so bad it is making them ill.

For months, residents of Fleetwood have been complaining about the site on Jamieson Road with some saying it has caused nosebleeds and headaches.

Protests are being held at the site, where campaigner Alison Roe said the smell was "disgusting".

Transwaste, which has run the site since last year, said the smell was "short-term" while improvements were made.

The Environment Agency said Transwaste was in breach of the environmental permit and have been told to cap the problem area, by the middle of May.

A spokesman said: "We understand how unpleasant the situation at Fleetwood landfill is for local people.

"The landfill gas, predominantly composed of carbon dioxide and methane, is coupled with hydrogen sulphide, known for its 'rotten egg' odour, and has become a source of discomfort for the Fleetwood community."

Campaigner Alison Roe said the smell was "disgusting"

Ms Roe said the smell of gas "makes you lethargic and gives everybody headaches".

"I've actually thrown up from it before, it's just poisoning people," she said.

She vowed campaigners would "protest until we get the action we need".

"We need to have our lives back, we're in a living hell and until this place gets closed I won't be happy," she added.

"I want the place closed down so we can have fresh air to breathe."

A Transwaste spokesman said: "We have undertaken a great deal of work to bring the site up to modern standards.

"This does mean that for a short and temporary period, the waste is uncovered whilst it is moved around, which can create intermittent odour.

"We have endeavoured to re-cover the waste immediately to try and minimise this.

"We apologise for any odours caused by this rectification work and would like to reassure residents that this is a short-term, temporary issue as we modernise and improve odour control."

The UK Health Security Agency said any health issues "should pass quickly and without any longer-term impact".