A group of South Holland residents are being smoked out of their homes with bonfires lasting several days, they claim.
Trailer-loads of what appears to be old straw and manure have been burning near Whaplode Drove and, despite the intervention of the Environment Agency, the fires continued this week.
The fire has been left unattended for lengthy periods and has been smouldering almost continuously for more than a week, with smoke causing problems for people in the area.
Despite a respite of a couple of days at the back end of last week, the fire has been started again and the smoke is again stopping people from opening windows or enjoying their gardens during the recent hot spell.
Both the Environment Agency and South Holland District Council have been made aware of the issue.
The Environment Agency has spoken to the farmer involved after receiving complaints from people in the area.
An agency spokesperson said last week: “In relation to complaints about a farmer continuously burning waste, the Environment Agency engaged with the farmer on August 12 to advise him of the correct methods of handling waste. We will continue to monitor the situation.
“Anyone who suspects illegal waste activity can report it to our 24-hour hotline on 0800 807060.”
The situation was eased over the end of last week, but trailer-loads of manure were taken to the site again over the weekend.
“It has been affecting many different people for days,” said one resident, who said seven trailer-loads were counted going in for burning.
“It really does depend on the direction of the wind, but with the warm weather we want to be able to open our windows at least,” said a resident of the area.
