Sinfin residents unable to sleep due to fly infestation

Residents have been left unable to sleep because of a plague of flies that have swamped their homes.

People living near a waste plant on Sinfin Lane in Derby have been catching the insects on sticky tape and urged someone to take responsibility.

One resident described catching 150 flies in a day while others are keeping windows and doors closed.

Waste plant bosses deny being to blame and say they have "a rigorous regime" in place to control flies.

Residents said the infestation had become "unbearable" in recent weeks

Derby City Council said it was working with the Environment Agency to investigate and had ordered fly paper for residents.

Ward councillor Nadine Peatfield said there was a "clear triangle" of affected houses and the problem needed to be fixed.

"It's really getting people down," she said. "Some are saying they can't sleep at night because of flies buzzing around their heads.

"We all know how annoying flies are when it's just a few but rooms are full."

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Samsia Aloy, of Thackeray Street, said the number of flies was "just too much".

"They are all over the house - in the bathroom, the kitchen and bedrooms," the 31-year-old said.

"They are going into our food and the children are scared of them."

Derek Gould, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, said the insect invasion was "relentless".

Another resident, Rebecca Lightning, described the amount of flies as "depressing", saying "you can't get rid of them".

The waste plant was first proposed 10 years ago, but is not yet fully operational. It began testing more than a year ago.

Councillor Nadine Peatfield said the infestation was "disgusting"

Waste plant owners Resource Recovery Solutions said they "have not found any evidence to suggest these flies are originating from the facility".

A spokeswoman added: "We have a rigorous regime in place to control flies as well as both internal and external independent monitoring. We will continue to monitor this."

Richard Antcliff, from the city council, said: "Regardless of where the flies are coming from, the images are very concerning.

"We can only imagine the stress people living in these conditions are under."