DISGUSTED neighbours complained about the stink spreading over Royal Wootton Bassett from a nearby landfill site.

The pervasive pong from Crapper and Sons' site has affected people all over the town after bad weather made the usual whiff of rubbish more intense and more widespread.

Michelle Hill said: “It’s absolutely dreadful, the smell is offensive. I’ve been trying to put my sheets out but can't because it keeps coming and going but I can still smell it now.

"It comes and goes, I didn't establish when it started. Initially, I thought it was muck spreading from the farmers and I don’t worry about that as much because it’s natural. But this is not natural and it’s offensive.”

Sandra Satchel added: “I can smell it in the morning around nine o'clock on most days but it does depend on the wind. Sometimes it’s like horrible bad eggs and one morning it was more like methane.

"It’s been going on for a long time, months now. I know the people who own it do their best but it isn’t very nice. I’ve lived here 34 years, it’s quite disappointing.”

Anne Atkinson said: “I have noticed the smell, it can be quite bad. At first I didn’t particularly notice it but it’s been going on for months and it comes and goes.”

Tony Daniel said: “You can smell it now and again, certain times of the week really. I only moved in this week and I noticed it straight away.

"I’m worried that when it gets warm and the temperature rises it’s going to get worse."

Aiden Ingle said: “It’s like a gassy kind of smell, it’s not constant but it depends on where the wind is blowing it comes and goes. At first I thought it was coming from farmers fields, but it’s a bit of a smell it’s not nice."

Crapper and Sons apologised for the stink and explained what was being done to tackle it.

A spokesman said: "The last few weeks has seen continued wind and rain. Unfortunately, this has slowed down work in capping off our current cell . We are about 25 per cent through the process. These wet conditions have seen an increase in some odours locally as the gases are being squeezed out of the landfill.

"The wind over the next few days is likely to be north westerly which may mean odours from the site will be blown over Royal Wootton Bassett. We apologise if this affects you.

"Over the next two, months you may see some large drilling machines on site.

"We will be drilling new extraction wells in order to manage the existing cells better and extract the gases to control them and hopefully generate electricity in the future."

Head of communications Paul Heaphy said: “James Gray and I met about 10 days ago we took him on site, showing him what’s going on and showing him what we have been doing.

“We have an odour issue caused mainly by two things, one is excessive rain and rubbish. With landfill, we dig a hole and put it in and then we put clay over it which is called a cell. This stops it from going into the sewage and doesn’t cause a problem. We recycle two thirds of what comes in and a third will go into the cell. The cell is expected to break down in about two years time but with the excessive rain it’s happening a lot faster which is causing the smell.

“The environmental agency is all over this and we’re all the same boat, we don’t like this either. So the way to fix it is to fill the cell with more clay and that process started in January and should take a couple more months.”