Endlessly swarming flies are making life a misery for residents in Uckfield.
Nobody is certain yet what the flies are, or where they come from, but people living in and around the places listed below are among those suffering:
- Anvil Close
- Bridge Farm Road
- The Smithy
- Forge Rise
- New Barn Lane
- Harcourt Close
- Bellfarm Lane
- Bellbrook Industrial Estate
- Mount Pleasant
- Victoria Pleasure Ground
Members of the Uckfield Talk Facebook page have shared their horror stories.
They say windowsills and doors are black with the flies, residents breathe them in when they walk outside and they have been desperately appealing for Wealden District Council and Southern Water – who run sewage works in Bridge Farm Road – to deal with the problem.
Some of the flies collected by Jo Hextor.
One resident, Jo Hextor, from Bridge Farm Road, says there have been similar problems over the past 20 years but usually the flies go as quickly as they arrive. This time they have stayed.
She sees clouds of flies in her garden and she has now invested in an electric fly zapper for her kitchen to keep flies out of her cooking. Others have done the same thing.
Electric fly zappers are now being used in kitchens by residents wanting to stop flies getting into their cooking.
Swarms of flies have also been seen around the trees at the Victoria Pleasure Ground making it a nightmare for people walking there or using the play equipment.
Stephanie Baldwin from New Barn Lane took the picture below of flies on her window sill. She said she must have swallowed half the flies by now.
More flies – this time on a windowsill in New Barn Lane.
A spokeswoman for Wealden District Council said Rother and Wealden Environmental Health were working with Southern Water to solve the issue which is believed to be originating from their waste water treatment works. An investigation is still continuing to determine the exact cause.
The spokeswoman added that in the interim Southern Water were sourcing the necessary chemicals to treat the problem and this should occur within the next ten to 14 days.
Homes in Anvil Close and The Smithy can be seen across a field near the sign to the Southern Water water treatment works in Bridge Farm Road, Uckfield.
Environmental Health will be visiting the waste water treatment works on Friday (March 22) as part of their on-going investigation.
Uckfield town clerk Holly Goring said the town council was aware of the current issues with regard to the swarm of flies which were thought to be from the sewage plant to the west of Bridge Farm Road.
She added it was keeping a close watch on the situation and would make contact with the relevant authorities again if the matter continued to persist.
The entrance to the Southern Water water treatment works.