'Unbearable' smell in Westbury leaves residents trapped indoors

  • Watch Victoria Davies' report

Residents in a Wiltshire town say they are unable to open doors or windows because of an overwhelming smell linked to a nearby incinerator.

People in Westbury say they are unable to sit in their gardens and that the number of flies in the area is "unbearable".

One resident described it as feeling like "your head is in a bin".

The smell has been traced to Hills Waste Solutions, a site which processes household waste generated in Wiltshire.

The Hills Waste Solutions company says a change of filter is causing the smell.

The company says the stench is a result of a bio-filter they are replacing - something which needs to be done every three to four years.

Work on replacing the filter is due to be completed at the end of August and - according to Hills Waste Solutions - that is when residents will notice a difference.

But councillors say the timescale and impact on residents' lives is not good enough.

Following an investigation, the Environment Agency confirmed the smell is coming from The Northacre Resource Recovery Centre, which is run by Hills Waste Solutions.

Local MP Andrew Murrison has welcomed the Environment Agency's enforcement order.

The Agency also said the site had breached its permit, meaning enforcement action can now be taken.

Local MP Dr Andrew Murrison has said he welcomes the Environment Agency’s legal enforcement notice.

The site producing the pong is next to land earmarked for a new incinerator, something the MP is concerned about given the current circumstanced in the area.

The site where the new Westbury incinerator will be built.

In a statement, he said: “I’m pleased Hills is now apparently replacing its filters but the fact it made my constituents endure the smell for so long hardly suggests they would be reliable operators of the incinerator they now want to dump on Westbury.”