NEIGHBOURS say a disgusting smell similar to “toxic manure” is plaguing their lives.

The bizarre odour from Cattlegate Farm, on the border of Enfield and Potters Bar, is so strong that hundreds have taken to Facebook to complain.

One person wrote: “"I walked out of Sainsbury on the retail park on the A10 and it was overpowering! What are we all breathing in? Thankfully less intense in Town but still lingering.”

Another said: “It’s horrible!!! Smells like farmyard gone bad”, while one wrote: “There is a bad smell by Southbury Leisure Centre too. Like a chemical smell mixed with manure smell."

The plant was opened in 2015 but owners claimed there would be no smell – with one supplier saying: “It’s lovely, it’s like a woodland smell”.

Chase Ward councillors Nick Dines and Peter Fallart have written to the Environment Agency to find out why this is happening and whether the smell is safe to breathe in.

Cllr Dines said: “The stench that covered large parts of Chase Ward was hideous, with large numbers of people contacting the council about it.

“There is genuine concern about the air quality: what is they are processing up at the Farm and why on Earth does it have to generate such an overpowering smell?

"The Environment Agency needs to enforce and ensure that the stench goes away. It also needs to be more pro-active in informing residents about what is being processed and what the impact is on the quality of the air we breathe".