Foul smell could become a regular fixture

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) has warned that the foul smell wafting over large parts of London and the south east last week is a taste of things to come if the government presses ahead with its ill-conceived plan to ban slurry spreading during the winter.

The 'London Stink' is believed to have been caused by Dutch farmers' slurry spreading en masse at the end of their winter no-spread period.

NFU communications director Anthony Gibson said: "This is what happens when farmers are forced to empty their slurry store all in one go at the same time, instead of being able to apply it little and often during the winter.

"While we are obviously very sorry for any unpleasantness caused to people living in the south east, we are grateful to the Dutch farmers for laying on such a pungent demonstration of what could happen every spring here in the UK if the government presses ahead with its ill-conceived proposal to implement a blanket ban on winter slurry spreading across most or all of the country."

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