28 February 2023 , 14:41
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Neighbours living near the UK's biggest dairy factory claim it has been churning stomachs as well as milk, with smells and noise pollution causing misery.
Fumes from the Davidstow Creamery plant are beginning to grate on surrounding residents, who say the revolting smells and noise have made their lives hell.
The dairy factory in Cornwall produces Cathedral City cheddar, Frylight spray and Clover spread among its many names.
But locals in the Cornish village say cheese really does give you nightmares, with the emanating stench causing sleepless nights which have left some depressed and miserable.
A court order was made five years ago ordering Davidstow bosses to sort the odour, but those leaving nearby claim little has been done.
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Owners of the plant were fined more than £1.5m last year after admitting major environmental breaches, including polluting rivers and emitting foul smells (SWNS)So bad was the problem at one point, the Environment Agency prosecuted factory owners resulting in a landmark £1.5m fine.
The EA told Truro crown court the company had allowed the problem to fester "for too long and needed to significantly improve."
But the record fine - the largest imposed on any company in the region - appears to have had little effect, with cheesed off residents saying they are still suffering.
Couple Jim Hunt, 69, and Kasia Turajczyk, 66, moved to nearby Tremail seven years ago and claim the problem has resulted in more anger with each passing year.
"I can't imagine how bad it is for people even closer to us," said Jim.
"The noise every time you try and sleep, the smells every day, on and on for years. It can really get to you.
Jim Hunt and Kasia Turajczyk have been living near the creamery for seven years (SWNS)"Nothing has changed and it just grinds people down year after year. It is not just smells, it is poisonous gas, noise, you can not sleep, children can not play outside a lot of the time. It is bound to get people down."
The stench has been likened to that of rotten eggs, sewage and even animal carcasses, and means Jim and Kasia have to keep their windows closed in summer when the warm weather aggravates the smell.
Dairy Crest pleaded guilty to 21 of 27 of the charges brought against them and was fined £1.52m in June last year.
The creamery which churns out 57,000 tons of dairy products each year was originally built seven decades ago on the site of a former WWII aerodrome, and is one of Europe's biggest manufacturing sites.
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"It's worse in the spring and summer months when the weather is nice," said resident Mario Dabrowski, 66.
"People just don't want to be outside when it's that bad.
"There is a couple who run a tent company and they've moved because of it. They've had enough and just couldn't tolerate it anymore.
"It often depends on the wind direction where has it worst."
Mario and Janet say neighbours don't want to go outside when the smell is bad (SWNS)Among the offences admitted by Dairy Crest were releasing toxic biocides into the River Inny killing thousands of fish over a 2 kilometre stretch on 16 August 2016.
The same stretch of rover was also coated in thick black sludge in 2018 when the company released suspended solids.
A spokesperson for Saputo Dairy Ltd, which owns Dairy Crest, said it had undertaken a "number of" improvements at the site in recent years.
"We are aware of a few neighbours still experiencing issues around odour and noise and further initiatives are underway to address this, which they are aware of.
Residents living near the site have been getting cheesed off at the appalling smells (SWNS)"We work closely with the Environment Agency (EA) - sharing plans and regularly reporting progress. Furthermore, we hold regular three-way meetings with the EA and local residents to update them on progress and discuss any complaints.
"Davidstow residents are represented by the parish council, with whom we have a productive working relationship. We recommend speaking to them as they are best placed to speak on behalf of the broader community."