Residents near landfill site report feeling unwell

Eugene Gooch says she has been woken up in the night feeling sick with an irritated nose and throat

People living near a landfill site say they are suffering from nosebleeds, headaches and other illnesses.

A bad smell in Calne, Wiltshire, has been reported for months, with an Environment Agency (EA) investigation finding that a local waste site is at least partially responsible.

The agency said it has been working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) too, which has said the risk to human health is low.

The owners of the site, Hills Waste Solutions, were served with an enforcement notice and are doing work to get the smell under control.

People have been reporting the smell in the town for months

At a recent public meeting on the issue, one resident said: "At times I've woken up with my entire bedroom filled with the gas.

"I then wake up with nosebleeds, headaches, my cats have been physically sick, as have I."

Another local, councillor Eugene Gooch, described the smell as many others have over the last few months as "eggy", "rotting" and like "sewage" at times too.

"First of all you feel sick and there is an irritation in the back of your nose and your throat and your chest can feel irritated," she told the BBC.

There was a recent public meeting about the problem

The UKHSA explained that strong smells can still cause some reactions such as watery eyes, irritated throat, coughing or wheezing, nausea and headaches, even when the substances were below levels harmful to health.

The UKHSA and EA are continuing to monitor the Lower Compton landfill site.

But locals are still concerned and councillor Sam Pearce-Kearney is planning a second public meeting.

"We're planning to hold another question and answer session and bring the UKHSA. They [the residents] deserve answers," he said.

The Environment Agency has been investigating the cause of the smell

The EA said there are other potential sources of the smell, but it identified some problems with the landfill site infrastructure.

Hills Waste Solutions is currently completing the work - which needs to be finished by the end of July.

The EA expects the smell to reduce after that.

Hill Waste Solutions apologised at the recent public meeting but said it did not have any more comments to make about the issue at this time.