WEST Ashton councillors have hit out at the lack of action over tackling the foul smell and sewage problems at a nearby travellers’ site.

For the best part of six months, Cllrs Richard Covington and Horace Prickett have been asking Wiltshire Council to fix the drainage problems at the site along Yarnbrook Road, but nothing has happened.

The councillors say that the problem occurs when it rains, and foul-smelling water runs off onto the road and pavement, affecting pedestrians, who have to give it a wide berth to avoid it.

They say that after six months after reporting this to the authority, the problem is only getting worse.

“When it rains, it is a real mess. When people have to go out onto the road to get away from it, then it is high time something is done, but we are still waiting,” said Cllr Prickett.

“There is a man in the village who uses a mobility scooter. Not only does it go onto the pavement, but it is on the road at times too.

“This makes it an awful nuisance for him and many others. It is quite a fast road so you don’t really want to go off the pavement but with this you have to.

“We did not have an adequate land supply for a travelling site elsewhere, so one was set up in West Ashton. Residents have called me many times about the bad smell and this issue. They need to connect it to the main sewage network.

“The footpath is not very wide anyway. Maybe 15 inches or so. When this comes onto the pavement, there is not much you can do.

“We need Wiltshire Council to get its act together but it seems the people there are reluctant to do it as they would have to pay for it.”

Cllr Covington said the problem is not going to go away without council action.

“It is a pretty foul smell. This is a really big problem for us. It is not a problem really in the summer as it is dry but right now, it is not pleasant at all,” he said.

“I have spoken to the enforcement officer and sent letters too but we still have the same old problem six months on.

“All along that road, the land undulates so that it seeps into the road. You can easily come to the conclusion that it is not just ordinary water.”

A spokesman for Wiltshire Council said: “We’ve served an enforcement notice on the owners of the site requiring cleaning and maintenance and upkeep of the septic tank.

“The tank is being cleaned regularly and has been recently emptied. however. we are asking them to develop a more permanent solution for the drainage requirements for the accommodation on site.”