Acrid smell stops villagers from sleeping

People living in a village said they have been unable to sleep due to an acrid smell.

Brian Seeger, a councillor on Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, said he has received almost 100 emails from residents about the smell in Cuffley, near Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.

He claimed the odour, which has been present for over a week, was caused by "some people illegally burning commercial waste" at a site in Northaw Great Wood.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue said it "received several calls about a smell of burning in the Cuffley area on 30 July. We believe the source was a field fire in the area that we attended."

Seeger said he was "determined to get to the bottom of this recent burning smell, as well as the previous bad odours which have been blighting residents, particularly during hot weather".

Seeger said that "historically there have been problems with smells from the Willen Biogas facility, south of Cuffley".

Willen Biogas, which produces compost from gardens and green bin material, said there was "evidence of burning of wastes and plastics also in the vicinity which will give rise to odours".

It added the firm had also been made aware of a "fire burning out of control for two weeks at the western side of Cuffley Great Wood".

The company said it "operated in compliance with legislation that the authorities administer".

In a statement Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council said it was doing everything to address the issue as matter of urgency.

"As part of our investigation, we have issued nuisance packs to some residents so that they can keep a log of the smoke and smells."

Hertfordshire Police has been contacted for comment.

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