Villagers in Suffolk say their homes are being invaded by flies associated with a nearby poultry farm.

Residents in Cox Common in Westhall are unhappy about infestations of the insects, which they believe are linked to a nearby Crown Chicken premises, but East Suffolk Council has not found any evidence of flies at the farm.

A former Westhall resident, who did not wish to be named, said the problems stemmed from the fact that it was a breeder farm, not a broiler farm, which produces the eggs that are hatched before the chickens are sent to broiler farms to be raised before being sent to the food market.

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She said: "The residents of Cox Common in Westhall have been fighting to either get the farm reverted to its original use as a broiler farm or shut down, pretty much everyone down that road lives with the same issue.

"The fly situation is no joke and is affecting the local businesses (campsite next door)."

Complaints have also been made about noise coming from the site, which is leased by Crown Chicken from farming company E C Drummond, a subsidiary of food firm Cranswick.

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However, an East Suffolk Council spokesperson said: “Our environmental protection team has been working with the owners of the unit to establish that all appropriate action is taken to ensure it is not the source of flies in the area.

“We arranged for an independent entomologist to visit the site in August 2023 and found no sign of active infestations of flies internally or externally at the premises.

"The site was found to be internally very well managed with very effective insect management and bio security arrangements.

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“Over the winter months, engineering works were carried out to the air handling plant to reduce noise from the fans that serve the units.

"Subsequent noise monitoring demonstrated that the works were successful in significantly reducing the noise and we have not received any subsequent complaints.”

A Cranswick spokesperson said: "The council have evaluated the situation and have confirmed there is no direct link between the report of flies in the area and the development at the site."

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