MP demands action after closed-down dump continues to smell

An MP has called for the government to clear a waste dump which is still emitting a foul smelly odour despite it being officially closed down.

The waste heap on the Simonswood Industrial Estate has has been the subject of a raft of complaints from neighbouring residents in Kirkby, Merseyside, and Bickerstaffe, Lancashire.

Neighbours have complained of "putrid" smells as well as noise, dirt and dust from the Bickerstaffe site which has been shut by the Environment Agency.

West Lancashire MP Ashley Dalton told the House of Commons: "The mound remains, as does the odour and the dust."

The Labour MP added: "What assurances can the government give that Simonswood will be considered in the next phase of the illegal waste site clearance scheme?"

Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle has not ruled out government help.

She said: "The Environment Agency continues to investigate activity at Simons Wood and the site will be considered for clearance alongside other illegal waste sites."

However, residents were sceptical about anything happening soon.

Angela Driscoll told BBC Radio Merseyside: "We have been fighting this for 15 years.

"Nothing has changed. I think they all give lip service and no-one is accountable.

"I have no confidence in any of it.

"We have been campaigning against it for years."

She added: "The stink does not bother me as we live in an industrial area.

"It's the dirt, dust and the trucks that has created that mound of stink that is there."

The Environment Agency issued an enforcement notice on the site's owners on 28 March which meant it could no longer accept any more waste.

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