The latest round of muck spreading on fields at St Martin's by Looe by a local farmer, has led to such an outcry over what residents have described as an appalling stench, that one mother kept her 11 year old daughter home from nearby Looe Community School last Friday, and both the town council and the school have made official complaints to Caradon Environmental Department.

The farmer has been carrying out the spreading over a large acreage for the past three years, but it came to a head when he did it over the Bank Holiday weekend last summer, causing uproar not only from residents, but also from the traders who said it was playing havoc with business.

Caradon served an Abatement Order then, and served another on Friday to remind the farmer he must adhere to the Code of Practice which states that spreading must be done by the best practicable means to eliminate any nuisance.

Mrs Lyn Leary of Press On in West Looe, said her daughter had come home from school crying because there was even a terrible smell in the classrooms. 'I informed the school I would be keeping her home on the Friday' she said, 'no child should have to work under such conditions'.

Head teacher Helga Turner has expressed her very serious concerns about the situation which includes the health and welfare implications for pupils. She said one student felt it had set off an asthma attack and others have reported feeling nauseous and been sent to the sick bay to recover. Looe FC using the school field on Saturday were also affected by the smell.

Mrs Turner has written to Caradon's Environmental Health Officer Nigel Ramsey stating that P E lessons had to be cancelled, children were unable to play outside during lunch and break times, pupils had to walk between outside classrooms to lessons shielding their mouths and noses from the stench, pockets of the smell and gasses had collected in areas inside the building, and pupils felt sick.

At Monday night's meeting of Looe town council, Councillor Frances Kenshole said she had received many complaints from people all over the town, from Tencreek to West Looe Square. 'We are putting up with this nuisance twice a year and we must issue our protest once again' she said. 'The farmer must either stop it or be made to spread this chicken manure in a less obtrusive manner'.

Mr Ramsey said he visited the fields on Sunday and found the manure had been ploughed into the ground. He said he had also had an amicable meeting with the farmer on Tuesday and stressed to him the importance of complying with the Code of Practice. 'There is no law against muck spreading by farmers' he said, 'but they are required not to commit a nuisance while doing so. He will not be spreading on a bank holiday again, and ideally it should not be done at weekends, which unfortunately is probably when the school would prefer it'. He said the farmer had tried to be helpful by spreading artificial manure in the field closest to the school.