Biblical plague of flies making life in leafy British village 'intolerable'

A plague of flies has rendered living in a leafy British village "intolerable" for scores of residents.

Locals in Sileby, Leicestershire have been left unable to open their windows after a large infestation has swamped the town.

Lynn Hill, one resident, described the mass of flies as "horrendous".

"I've got around 20 in the room at the moment. It's awful," she told the BBC.

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Charnwood Borough Council has said a poultry farm in the village was the "likely source" of the flies.

Locals said flies had been an issue in previous years, but the infestation had intensified this summer.

The council has said that further controls have now been put in place at the site to reduce the presence of the pesty bugs.

Ms Hill said the situation had become unbearable.

She said: "It's awful. Every minute I'm in my living room I can't put food out or anything like that. It is horrendous.

"They're landing on me. It's been going on now for a whole month, how they get in or whatever, I don't know."

"It's the sheer volume of flies, its intolerable, it really is."

Colin Readwin and his wife Helen have also suffered as a result of the flies.

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He said the infestation had been the worst in six years.

"We're having building works done and there's been exposure of clay and we put it down to that, but hearing everybody else in the village had the fly infestation, we don't think it is," he added.

"We've had candles going, we've had fly spray, we've been flicking them with dusters and they're buzzing around your head. It's awful."

Charnwood Borough Council believes Sunrise Poultry Farms is the cause of the flies.

A spokesman for the council said: "Officers have visited the farm, and the operators already have mitigation measures in place and further controls have been added following the clearing of a shed, which is likely to have increased fly activity.

"The measures include further insecticidal treatment and reviewing the management of waste."

The spokesman said it hoped the issue had been tackled, adding that it was working with the Environment Agency and is continuing to monitor the situation.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency added: "Our officers are investigating these issues and working alongside the council to resolve.

"If residents have environmental concerns they should call our 24/7 hotline on 0800 807060."

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