Foul Westbury whiff causes neighbours to retreat indoors

The waste company said it expected new filters to be in place by the end of August

A foul smelling waste site has reportedly left its neighbours feeling physically sick.

The odour - dubbed the Westbury whiff - has deterred people from using their gardens or leaving their windows open.

Hills Waste Solution in Westbury, Wiltshire, said the smell was escaping through filters and it was in the process of replacing these.

An Environment Agency enforcement notice requires the firm to complete the work by 30 August.

Failure to comply risks prosecution by the Environment Agency.

Resident Janet Parker said: "Every time you step outside or open a window it just feels like you're being assaulted by this vile odour that is coming into your home, it's like a wave of stench."

A neighbour David Jenkins said he normally sits outside in the garden with his family and grandchildren when they come to visit.

"We get the odours, we have to come in and have to close all the doors," he said.

Janet Parker described the smell as a "wave of stench" that wafts into her home

Area manager Rebecca Kirk, from the Environment Agency, said: "The site is regulated and permitted by the Environment Agency, and officers have a regular presence at that site.

"Once we were able to confirm that the smell had come from that site we were able to take the necessary and important action against the company."

She said there were three parts to the filter and two parts had already been replaced and the final part was due to be replaced shortly.

She said the agency had advised the company to change its filters in the winter months because warmer weather could worsen the smell.

In a statement Hills Waste Solutions said the process employed at the Northacre Resource Recovery Centre uses a filtration plant to eliminate odours.

It said that as part of routine maintenance the equipment requires the filter to be changed every three to four years and this work was expected to be completed by the end of August.