19 February 2024 , 17:46
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Residents in a posh English village are kicking up a fuss over a mystery stench that's been bothering locals and causing them to fall ill, it is claimed. The smell, described as a "waste stench with a chemical undertone", is so bad that it's plaguing their lives and left some suffering from severe migraines.
Villagers say the 'overpowering' pong has been emanating around the quaint parish of Muxton, Shropshire, since January. Laura Stoner, who has lived in Ryder Drive for four years, said: "It started in January. It really smacks you in the face. It comes and goes and it is difficult to describe but when you leave the house it is really noticeable.
"It is sort of a waste smell with a chemical element. Some days it is so bad that you can't put the washing out. It is worse if you approach Muxton from the Asda Donnington end.
"Some days it is so bad that it triggers migraines or headaches for me and I had to take two weeks off work because of it. Parents at my son's school have also complained about it.
"One of them thinks it could be coming from the nearby landfill and somebody else said it could be coming from the new estate near Asda, but I don't know what it is. I've tried to report it to Telford & Wrekin Council but there doesn't seem to be anywhere on the council website to report smells."
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Another local, Danny Vurlan, 28, said: "It's just horrendous and I'm worried for our health. After a bit of time, it starts giving you a headache, like that feeling you get if you stay in a bathroom with bleach in for too long. I have no idea what it is, but it does make you gag. It's grim."
One person said on social media: "I think it's the sulphur from the tip but why it's only started becoming a problem now, God only knows." Another said: "I don't want to hang my washing out and I'm embarrassed about having visitors around at the minute. There was a problem with sewage a few years back but the water company came out and fixed the drains, so it's a mystery to me too."
Iain Alexander, chairman of Muxton Parish Council, said bad smells were not unusual in the village, but he didn't think the smell was coming from landfill.
He said: "We do often get smells from farmers when they are spreading on their fields but I don't think it can be from the landfill site as that is more than five miles away." He added that problems with environmental health should be reported to Telford & Wrekin Council.