Over 1,000 complaints in a week about Silverdale landfill smells

Red Industries, which runs the landfill, said rubbish deliveries were temporarily halted from 13 March

More than 1,000 complaints have been made in a week about smells coming from a landfill site.

People living by Walleys Quarry in Staffordshire have been upset by "horrendous" odours for many years, with some seeking medical treatment.

The Environment Agency (EA) said it had visited the "immediate vicinity of the site on an almost daily basis" this week in response to the complaints.

Owners Red Industries said it was aware of the complaints.

It is working to cap a "significant part" of the site in Silverdale and has accelerated the programme which was reviewed by EA inspectors on site on Tuesday, a spokesman added.

There were 1,1,68 reports about the smell in the Newcastle-under-Lyme area between 5 to 11 April, the EA said, which it described as "concerning".

Inspectors will continue to visit the site until 30 April

Up to 2,000 complaints were lodged over a single weekend in February with questions raised in Parliament. The EA said the odours had been caused by contaminated surface water.

Two new air quality monitoring units will be installed in the area and data collected over the next couple of weeks.

Recent monitoring data, will be made public after being assessed by Public Health England (PHE), the EA said.

Waste has now started to be taken to the landfill site again after a temporary stop, but the EA said it was needed to complete the capping programme, which was part of an enforcement notice issued to the firm in March.

Inspectors will continue to visit the site until 30 April to ensure Red Industries completes the terms of the notice and information will continue to be shared with the county council and PHE.

The agency said it was reviewing its findings from a visit on Tuesday and would publish the results after liaising with the operator and it recognised the "on going difficulties the odour had caused".

Red Industries said in a statement: "We are aware of the number of complaints from the community in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

"The rate of capping is on plan for completion, as agreed with the regulator, by 30 April."