CONTAMINATED manure has made life a misery for residents of a dale village.
Thousands of pieces of plastic, polystyrene and fabric were uncovered in a field adjacent to Ovington Lane, Ovington.
Residents became concerned when material started to blow into their properties and polluted a nearby beck in recent weeks.
They claimed clearing road verges of the debris had become a daily task. As a result the Environment Agency was called in to investigate.
Officials said the problem relates to an incident dating back five years when contaminated manure was delivered to the field from out of the area.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “It’s believed this relates to an historic incident we investigated in 2013 relating to manure, which was, unknown to the landowner, contaminated with plastics.
“At the time, the landowner took immediate remedial action. It appears some of this plastic waste has surfaced again. We have notified the landowner of the current issues.”
After the initial incident the Environment Agency issued advisory notices to those in the region who received manure from the same supplier.
Following this latest incident, the Environment Agency has reiterated advice to report waste or pollution incidents to their 24-hour incident hotline on 0800 807060.
