Residents of a UK village said they can’t leave their windows open after a fly infestation (Image: Getty)
Residents of a British village say their lives have been turned upside down after a “biblical” plague of flies left them unable to open windows, enjoy their homes or leave food uncovered.
People living in Sileby, Leicestershire, have described the infestation as “horrendous” and “intolerable”, with swarms of flies invading homes for more than a month. Local resident Lynn Hill said the sheer number of insects had made everyday life unbearable.
Residents say swarms of flies have made life in Sileby “intolerable”. (Image: Getty)
“I’ve got around 20 in the room at the moment. It’s awful,” she told the BBC.
She said: “Every minute I’m in my living room, I can’t put food out or anything like that. It is horrendous. They’re landing on me. It’s been going on now for a whole month, how they get in or whatever, I don’t know. It’s the sheer volume of flies, it’s intolerable, it really is.”
Residents say fly problems have affected the village in previous years, but claim this summer’s infestation is by far the worst they have experienced.
Colin Readwin said he initially believed building works near his home were to blame before discovering neighbours across the village were facing the same problem.
“We’re having building works done and there’s been exposure of clay and we put it down to that, but hearing everybody else in the village had the fly infestation, we don’t think it is,” he said.
“We’ve had candles going, we’ve had fly spray, we’ve been flicking them with dusters and they’re buzzing around your head. It’s awful.”
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Mr Readwin added that it was the worst infestation the village had seen in six years.
Charnwood Borough Council believes the “likely source” of the flies is Sunrise Poultry Farms, where officers have carried out inspections following complaints from residents.
A council spokesperson said: “Officers have visited the farm, and the operators already have mitigation measures in place and further controls have been added following the clearing of a shed, which is likely to have increased fly activity.
“The measures include further insecticidal treatment and reviewing the management of waste.”
The authority said it is continuing to work with the Environment Agency to monitor the situation and hopes the additional control measures will reduce the number of flies.
An Environment Agency spokesperson added: “Our officers are investigating these issues and working alongside the council to resolve.
“If residents have environmental concerns they should call our 24/7 hotline.”
For now, many residents say they remain trapped indoors, with windows shut despite the warm weather, as they wait for the swarms to disappear.