Residents say pungent smells from a giant compost facility in their village are making their lives a misery.

They claim home food waste taken to the Agrivert plant at Ashgrove Farm in Ardley for composting has turned the air foul since it opened last February.

The waste is collected by Cherwell District Council and the compost distributed to farmers.

Ian Corkin, of Ardley with Fewcott Parish Council, said: “It has come to a head now because the problem has been getting worse and people have come to the end of their tethers.”

Waste should go to another site, he said: “The fumes are awful. It’s a really cloying, disgusting sweet sickly smell.

“You get out of the car and you can’t breathe. You can’t eat in the house or outside. It gets everywhere, there’s no getting away from it.”

Villages including Ardley, Fewcott, Middleton Stoney and Bucknell are affected, he said.

Mr Corkin said: “We’ve got a group of residents who want to go up and close it, there’s real civil unrest. Residents have had enough.”

The Environment Agency, which regulates the composting facility, said it was investigating complaints from residents.

Agrivert said it had reduced the amount of material taken and removed plastics from waste in a bid to cut smells.

Managing director James Astor said: “We are committed to doing everything we can to improve the situation by reducing odours. We would encourage anyone who detects a smell to let us know so we can investigate.”

Farmers spreading muck during summer months could have contributed, he claimed.