RESIDENTS living close to a food recycling site have complained to South Hams Council about its 'repugnant' smell, although the owners believe they are not to blame.

South Hams Council and the Environment Agency have both received complaints from residents who believe an offensive odour is being produced by an anaerobic digester (a food recycling machine) at Langage Farm in Smithaleigh.

Residents of Lee Mill and Sparkwell are upset about the smell which, they say, is coming from Langage.

South Hams councillor for Cornwood and Sparkwell, Ian Blackler has been contacted by residents. Cllr Blackler said: 'Over the last three or four months lots of residents of Lee Mill village have informed me of the smell coming from Langage Farm, which they have told me is 'repugnant'.

'A local farmer at Hitchcombe Farm, Ken Harris has also informed me of the bad odours.

'I know this issue is aggravating many of the residents of Lee Mill and also Cornwood. The residents want it stopped.'

Langage installed the digester around 18 months ago. It is designed to turn food waste into eco-friendly energy.

The process sees waste broken down in the absence of oxygen and the result is a high-quality compost with methane gas that can be burnt to generate electricity.

However, Langage Farm denies that the smell is being generated by their food recycling.

Paul Winterton, general manager of the manufacturing facility at Langage Farm, said: 'We are aware that some residents have complained about the smell, but we do not think it is coming from the anaerobic digester.

'There are many fields around us that have muck sprayed on them, so that could be some of the problem.

'We work extremely closely with the Environment Agency and carry out regular inspections on our anaerobic digester and all other parts of the farm. We are very stringent in our operations at Langage.

'We are committed to looking after the environment and want to do everything we can to limit any odours which may be affecting people.

'There are absolutely fantastic procedures in place at Langage, which we are very proud of, and if residents have complaints about any odours coming from our farm, we urge them to come and visit and see for themselves.

'We are very keen to communicate effectively with the local community and the best way of doing this is to get them in to the farm so they can see how the operations and processes work.'

A spokesman for South Hams Council said: 'Our Environmental Health department can confirm that five complaints from residents have been forwarded from the Environment Agency to the district council regarding an apparent smell at the Anaerobic Digestion Plant at Langage near Plympton.

'The Environment Agency (EA) is the lead authority in this investigation and South Hams Council EH officers on the ground are assisting the EA by reporting back their observations.'