Residents living near two sewage treatment works in Plymouth are demanding action over smells they say fill their homes and keep them out of their gardens.
People in Plympton and Cattedown are among those who describe the "eggy" sewage-like pongs as a problem that has plagued parts of the city for years.
Locals near South West Water's Marsh Mills wastewater treatment works say the stench has worsened since the nearby new town of Sherford was built, as that development also uses the facility.
South West Water has set up an online tool for residents to report the odours and says it takes the matter "seriously". The company says it is carrying out work at its Marsh Mills site in Plympton to "rectify operational issues", but insists it has "sufficient capacity to treat flows from the Sherford development". It adds that it is in "regular contact with the Sherford Consortium regarding odour concerns".
Residents, however, say more needs to be done.
Michael Hanks, 72, has lived near the Marsh Mills site since 2018. He said there were occasions when the smell was so bad his wife had "almost been physically sick". He said: "We're getting to the stage where we don't want to invite people to our house because they smell it and it's terrible. Are these treatment works capable of coping with everything? I don't think they are."
Cathy Loft, 76, lives a mile (1.6km) from the Marsh Mills site and said the smell had "got enormously worse, particularly over the last three or four years". She said: "I don't want to feel as though I'm living in sewer. Surely in this day and age they can make a sewerage farm that is big enough to take the sewage not only from Plympton, which is growing in size, but the nearby new town of Sherford, which has no sewerage facility. How can it possibly deal with all that excrement?"
Paige Williams, 17, added: "It's just disgusting. The other night I was woken up by the smell. Before, it used to be every now and again. Now it's every single day. It's really hard to ignore."
Independent city councillor for Plympton Erle Terri Beer said: "People are really suffering. House prices will start to plummet in time and people are worried, they're selling up and moving away." She added: "If you sleep with your bedroom window open, the smell permeates into your bedroom, gets into your soft furnishings, your curtains, your bedding. People can't enjoy their gardens, they can't hang the washing out, they can't let their children play."
Residents Urge Action Over Plymouth Wastewater Odours