RESIDENTS in Muirkirk kicked up a stink over the Easter weekend.

Angry locals have complained about a mystery stench engulfing the village, which was especially bad on Sunday.

The complaints started pouring in when the putrid aroma drifted down the main street.

On Tuesday, the Chronicle received a phone call from one angry resident who said: “It’s been stinking for almost a week now and it’s still there. It’s horrible.” Muirkirk Enterprise Group (MEG) chair, Jim Currie said: “A bad smell is an understatement. It has been really bad.

“This isn’t the first year that we’ve had this across the area, we had it last year as well.

“It’s been a disaster for me with the amount of complaints I’ve had, I’ve spoken with Environmental Health and they say that they are investigating.” Ray Forman, vice chair of MEG, said: “You could smell it in the air on Saturday but it was very bad on Sunday. It’s still there now but it’s not as bad.

“I had four phone calls on Sunday complaining about the smell and I know others did too.

“We’ve been told that the smell only lasts a few days, and that’s all fine and well, but it was Easter Sunday and most families were out in the area.” One local grandfather was forced to pull the plug on a party where he planted chocolate eggs for as Easter Egg Hunt with his grandchildren, planned for Sunday afternoon, as a result of the foul whiff.

Although locals believe muck-spreading might be at the root of it, the council’s watchdog are not so certain.

Environmental Health Services have been in the Muirkirk area investigating the cause of the stench.

Environmental Health chief, Paul Todd said: “We have investigators in the Muirkirk area as we speak (Tuesday April 22).

“We’ve had in the region of ten to twelve complaints about the smell and we are investigating and awaiting the results.”