‘We stay within the UK’s smelliest city – it stinks of rotten eggs and makes us in poor health’
UK residents living in what’s been dubbed the country’s “stinkiest town” claim they feel as though they’re being “gassed”, despite a halt to waste deliveries at a nearby landfill site.
The locals report that the stench from the waste site, reminiscent of “rotten eggs”, is making them sick and drastically impacting their quality of life.
The odour emanating from Walleys Quarry, situated on the outskirts of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, was so unbearable that waste deliveries were suspended back in April.
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However, even with waste deliveries grinding to a halt, over 1,000 complaints about the smell infiltrating homes are lodged every month.
![The site continues to spew putrid fumes despite years of complaints and threats of legal action](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33003431.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_We-live-in-the-UKs-smelliest-village-we-cant-open-our-windows-in-summer.jpg)
(Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
Exasperated locals are now calling for the Environment Agency to launch a probe into the foul smells, which are attributed to the release of hydrogen sulfide gas.
Audrey Young, a 48-year-old mother-of-two who resides a mile away from the site, said: “If you look at the bigger picture, there’s nearly a complaint per average household.
“It’s like you’re being gassed in your own home. It causes a lot health implications.”
![Exasperated locals are now calling for the Environment Agency to probe into the foul smells](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33003433.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/2_We-live-in-the-UKs-smelliest-village-we-cant-open-our-windows-in-summer.jpg)
(Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
“We’ve got the highest rate of breathing difficulties in the country. We’ve got the highest number of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and lung cancer rates. I lost my mum to COPD and it’s not that common.
“It’s like you know everyone you know has it. A lot of counties have it and we’re the worst,” she added.
She added that the rubbish comes from places as far away as Scotland, and there’s medical waste and animal waste from abattoirs.
![Protestor Simmo Burgess outside Walleys Quarry landfill site](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33003434.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/2_We-live-in-the-UKs-smelliest-village-we-cant-open-our-windows-in-summer.jpg)
(Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
Her daughter gets nose bleeds too, and Audrey added. “We get a lot of younger children getting bleeds.”
Despite efforts by a protest group known as Stop the Stink to pressurise authorities into taking action, their attempts have so far proved futile.
“Unless you leave the area there is no escape,” another local added.
![x](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article33003438.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_We-live-in-the-UKs-smelliest-village-we-cant-open-our-windows-in-summer.jpg)
(Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)
In response to swelling complaints about the odour, which numbered 4,210 in February alone, the Environment Agency put a stop to deliveries to the site in March.
Newcastle Under Lyme Borough Council has approached the government, seeking permission to legally challenge the site’s operation.
However, a spokesperson for Walleys Quarry defended the site, claiming it operates under stringent regulations by the Environment Agency.
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