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We live in posh town invaded by flies - it's gotten so bad we're scared our babies might choke to death
We live in posh town invaded by flies - it's gotten so bad we're scared our babies might choke to death

Daily Mail​

time03-06-2025

  • General
  • Daily Mail​

We live in posh town invaded by flies - it's gotten so bad we're scared our babies might choke to death

Residents of a posh royal town have been plagued by a 'nightmarish' invasion of flies which swarm their homes each summer, making their lives 'absolute hell'. Homeowners in Leamington Spa have described being left trapped indoors by the infestation of flies which crawl in people's mouths and 'choke babies in cots'. Those living around the Heathcote area say they cannot go in their gardens and have resorted to filling their homes with fly strips and zappers, while others have spent thousands on fly screens for their home. Parents are draping fly nets over cots, children can't eat dinner without the insects crawling into their mouths and others have reported falling ill due to the swarms of winged creatures blighting the area. The problem has become so unbearable that some locals have sold up and moved out of the Regency town, which has a population of just over 50,000. The matter was recently debated in Parliament by Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western who branded the issue, affecting around 10,000 people, a 'public health risk'. Locals say the problem began around three years ago but has got progressively worse - with more flies and a disgusting raw sewage smell descending on the area. They blame a nearby recycling plant owned by Amcor, formerly known as Berry Circular Polymers, which is regulated by the Environment Agency. Foster mum Maureen Kerr, 64, has lived in the area for three years and said trouble only started after the new plant was opened. The 64-year-old gran-of-six said: 'We foster babies from birth and have had to put nets over their cots and chairs. 'They go full pelt at you and you can't do anything. Especially when the babies are laying there after milk, it's awful - they try and swarm them. 'We started off with fly spray not realising why we had so many. Then we had fly papers and those fly zappers. 'We have to keep changing them. It got so bad there were 50 flies on them over 24 hours. 'The smell is terrible. Our next door neighbour moved because she couldn't stand it. I just keep the windows and doors shut to stop the flies. 'One man spent thousands on fly screens. We've only lived here for three years and the first year was absolutely fine. But then all this started in the second year.' Retired primary school teacher Diljeet Kang, 65, said once the flies swarm indoors it's nearly impossible to get them out again. The gran-of-six said: 'It's not just the flies, it's the horrendous, nasty odour as well. When the summer starts you can't open the windows for the smell and the flies. 'The smell is just awful. I haven't opened up my windows. It gets worse and worse as the warmer months. I daren't open them if the flies come in. 'They're tiny ones, really fast. You can't even swat them. Once they get in it's hard to get them out. 'Everyone on the street is complaining about it. The amount of people that have sold their houses on the road because of that. 'We can't go out and enjoy our barbecues either because the flies will swarm the meat and get us ill.' Richard Manly, 37, a local welder, added: 'It's been really nightmarish really, these flies have left people gagging and choking, even kids and babies in their cots and beds. 'Drivers and cyclists have been sick getting a mouthful while going down the street, some are being sick. It's a crazy situation and we can't believe it's been allowed to go on. 'I got to Wickes quite often and workers say customers are staying away because of the smell. I know pubs, restaurants and other businesses have a similar issues because of both the flies and the smell.' Retired cleaning company owner Robert Horely said the stench was enough to take his breath away when he left his house. The 69-year-old dad-of-one said: 'We have the problem every year and it lasts for months. 'We have fly strips hanging down that are covered, you can't see a space on them, it's that bad. You can't go outside in the summer, when you do there's flies around you. You can't eat outside. 'Local pubs were having problems. A family went for a meal and they had to abandon their food as the flies were all over their food. 'They come in and get everywhere. People have been struggling to sleep as there's flies crawling all over you. How do you get them out? 'Plus this smell which again appears to be coming from the same site. It's not a very pleasant smell, and quite strong at times. It's between a gone off, eggy disinfectant-type smell and chlorine. 'There's been a couple times where I've opened the front door and it's taken my breath away it's that smelly. It's a health and safety issue. 'The council and environment agency keep playing ping pong, it's back and forth between them. One of the biggest queries is how did it get planning permission in the first place.' Retired law teacher Kevin Shanahan, 64, added: 'It's the recycling business. Someone said the waste comes dirty and it attracts the flies. 'A man who works nearby to the unit says the plastic is brought in dirty and then it's left outside to fester. The smell is quite repulsive. 'We can't enjoy our homes as we can't go in our gardens or open the windows because of the flies and the smell.' Addressing parliament two weeks ago, Mr Western said: 'Imagine being in your own home and unable to eat with your family, unable to leave food for even a minute without your kitchen being swarmed with flies, and unable to sleep in your own bed without flies landing on your face. 'Imagine flies everywhere, in every room of your house, in business premises, in pubs, in restaurants and in takeaways, and vile odours permeating your life whether at home, walking the streets or driving your car. 'That is the reality for hundreds of families in one part my constituency. 'I estimate that as many as 10,000-if not more-of my constituents in south Warwick, south Leamington and Whitnash are impacted by this. 'They have faced swarms of flies and foul odours for three years running. Their houses are infested with flies. They are unable to open their windows for fear of swarms entering their home. 'They are unable to prepare food in their kitchen without the constant cleaning of their work surfaces to clean off the fly excrement, which also adheres to their walls. 'Would any Member of this House be satisfied with their family living like that? This is not just a minor inconvenience; this is ruining people's lives. 'People are getting ill, and some residents are actually selling up. 'Then there is the all-pervasive foul-smelling odour. Constituents describe the smell as being like "raw sewage". They say it is "sulphuric" and "toxic". 'Many have told me that the smell is utterly unbearable.' A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: 'We are committed to ensuring that people and the environment are protected. 'This includes regularly inspecting permitted sites in the Leamington Spa area and requiring operators to make improvements where they are required. 'Since April 1st we have inspected the Berry Circular Polymers site 4 times and identified a Category 3 (minor) breach of the permit as they were not following their prescribed management techniques. 'We encourage residents to continue to report environmental issues via our 24/7 hotline on 0800 807060 to help with our investigations.' A spokesperson for Berry Circular Polymers said previously: 'We take these concerns extremely seriously and although both ourselves and our regulators cannot find a substantial causal link, we are committed to ensuring we do not negatively impact Warwickshire residents.'

Ancient cloth which lay at bottom of Perthshire loch for thousands of years goes on display
Ancient cloth which lay at bottom of Perthshire loch for thousands of years goes on display

Daily Record

time28-04-2025

  • Science
  • Daily Record

Ancient cloth which lay at bottom of Perthshire loch for thousands of years goes on display

A rare piece of fabric that lay buried under silt at the bottom of a Perthshire loch for nearly 2500 years has gone on display. It was found in 1979 when an Iron Age loch dwelling house, the Oakbank Crannog, was excavated on Loch Tay. The woven piece of cloth is believed to be one of the oldest of its kind in Britain and dates back to the early to middle part of the Iron Age. It is now on show for the first time - within a climate controlled cabinet – at The Scottish Crannog Centre's Iron Age village, visitor centre and museum, near Kenmore. The textile had previously been thought too fragile to display, but it will be a permanent exhibit at the centre following a painstaking stabilisation and conservation process, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland. Experimental archaeologist and volunteer at the centre Maureen Kerr said: 'The exciting thing is that there's nowhere else in Scotland, and very few places in the rest of the UK, that has a textile of this size and age. 'The weave on this fine textile is called a 2/1 twill which is really unusual for the time in southern Britain and northern Europe as most twill weaves were 2/2. 'This sheds considerable light on the technologies society had in the Iron Age. 'Twill weaves, which this textile is part of, is a dense, flexible fabric, very similar in appearance to our modern denim weave. It has been made, we think, on a two-beam loom, or a warp-weighted loom. 'This, combined with the fact that there are the remnants of a possible hem indicating that it could have been part of a piece of clothing, makes it a rare and special discovery.' Crannogs – dwelling houses built on stilts or stone over water – usually had a bridge connecting them to the shore. Very few exist outside of Scotland and Ireland. The first crannogs in Scotland were built on lochs from Neolithic times. The Scottish Crannog Centre director Mike Benson commented: 'We are absolutely thrilled to be able to invite the public to come and see this amazing find. 'This piece would have been made by a whole community, from the shearing of the sheep, to the processing and dyeing of the wool to the weaving of the textile. 'Our Centre today is very much about community and the one thing that unites all of us is our common humanity through the ages.' The 'Oakbank Textile,' has been analysed by University of Glasgow archaeologists who have radiocarbon dated the material to between 480 - 390 BC. University of Glasgow senior lecturer in archaeology Dr Susanna Harris said: 'There are very few early textiles of this date and we think this is the first one of this type, of 2/1 twill, in Scotland. Wool was such an important material in Scotland it's been exciting to analyse this piece. 'It's great that the Scottish Crannog Centre has taken this step. It's really important finds like this go on display. It may be a small piece of textile but it tells us a lot about the heritage of Scottish textiles.'

Scottish Crannog Center to display fragment of Iron Age cloth
Scottish Crannog Center to display fragment of Iron Age cloth

The Herald Scotland

time23-04-2025

  • Science
  • The Herald Scotland

Scottish Crannog Center to display fragment of Iron Age cloth

Researchers say it sheds light on the weaving technology available to the inhabitants of prehistoric Scotland – and could possibly have come from a piece of clothing. The scrap's dense weave means it would have appeared similar to denim when it first came off the loom and follows an unusual pattern which was uncommon in Europe at the time. The fragile artefact was found buried at the bottom of Loch Tay in Perthshire for, where it had lain for nearly 2500 years, naturally preserved by the silty bed. It was uncovered when an Iron Age loch dwelling house known as the Oakbank Crannog was excavated in 1979, but was considered too fragile to go on display. The fabric will be on show at the Scottish Crannog Centre (Image: Martin Shields) However, the public will now be able to see the fragment close-up when it goes on show for the first time at The Scottish Crannog Centre's Iron Age village from today. The textile will become a permanent exhibit at the Centre on the banks of Loch Tay, and has gone through a painstaking stabilisation and conservation process, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland. It will be housed safely in a climate-controlled cabinet, preserving its unique fibers and pattern. Maureen Kerr, an experimental archaeologist and volunteer at the Centre, said: 'The exciting thing is that there's nowhere else in Scotland, and very few places in the rest of the UK, that has a textile of this size and age. 'The weave on this fine textile is called a 2/1 twill which is really unusual for the time in southern Britain and northern Europe as most twill weaves were 2/2. This sheds considerable light on the technologies society had in the Iron Age. 'Twill weaves, which this textile is part of, is a dense, flexible fabric, very similar in appearance to our modern denim weave. It has been made, we think, on a two-beam loom, or a warp-weighted loom.' She added: "This, combined with the fact that there are the remnants of a possible hem indicating that it could have been part of a piece of clothing, makes it a rare and special discovery.' The scrap of cloth lay at the bottom of a loch for 2,500 years (Image: Martin Shields) The 'Oakbank Textile,' has been analysed by archaeologists at the University of Glasgow who have radiocarbon dated the material to between 480 - 390BC. Dr Susanna Harris, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, carefully examined the textile on behalf of the Centre. She said: 'There are very few early textiles of this date and we think this is the first one of this type, of 2/1 twill, in Scotland. Wool was such an important material in Scotland it's been exciting to analyse this piece. 'It's great that the Scottish Crannog Centre has taken this step. It's really important finds like this go on display. It may be a small piece of textile but it tells us a lot about the heritage of Scottish textiles.' READ MORE: Mike Benson, Director of The Scottish Crannog Centre said: 'We are absolutely thrilled to be able to invite the public to come and see this amazing find. "This piece would have been made by a whole community, from the shearing of the sheep, to the processing and dyeing of the wool to the weaving of the textile. "Our Centre today is very much about community and the one thing that unites all of us is our common humanity through the ages.' He added: "Through our work with communities and like-minded organisations, we invite all kinds of people to our Centre, for instance, refugees and people struggling with their mental health. 'As well as making our prehistoric history accessible to all, we're also making history together through the different interpretations people bring to our artefacts. It's been amazing to hear the fresh insights people from other cultures and backgrounds can offer. 'We're really looking forward to finding out what people make of this rare textile, which is part of our past but also a hugely important part of our present and future. We hope people will be drawn to see this exhibit, and the rest of our extensive collection, for years to come.' Experimental archaeologists Maureen Kerr (left) and Isobelle Hanby outside the roundhouse where a warp-weighted loom is being used to recreate the 2/1 twill weave found in the Oakbank Crannog in 197 (Image: Martin Shields) Crannogs were dwelling houses built on stilts or stone over water and usually had a bridge connecting them to the shore. Very few exist outside of Scotland and Ireland. The first crannogs in Scotland were built on lochs from Neolithic times. In 2021 the Scottish Crannog Centre was dealt a devastating blow in 2021 when a fire burned down the site's reconstructed crannog, built by archaeologists in 1997. The Centre opened to visitors on its new and enlarged site near Kenmore last year and the build team is well on the way to completing a new crannog using sustainable and historical construction methods.

Rare Iron Age textile to go on display for first time
Rare Iron Age textile to go on display for first time

Yahoo

time22-04-2025

  • Science
  • Yahoo

Rare Iron Age textile to go on display for first time

An ancient textile which gives a unique insight into Iron Age Scotland is to go on display for the first time. The piece of fine woven yarn is almost 2,500 years old and dates back to the early to middle part of the Iron Age. It was previously thought to be too fragile to display, but following conservation work it has gone on permanent display at the Scottish Crannog Centre in Kenmore, Perthshire. The textile, believed to be the oldest of its kind, was originally discovered in 1979 when an Iron Age dwelling house, known as The Oakbank Crannog, was excavated on Loch Tay. The material had been pushed into silt on the loch bed which led to its survival, having been preserved naturally over thousands of years. It has been analysed by archaeologists at the University of Glasgow and radiocarbon dated to 390BC. It has also undergone a painstaking stabilisation and conservation process which has enabled it to be displayed safely in a climate-controlled cabinet. Maureen Kerr, an experimental archaeologist and volunteer at the centre, said: "The exciting thing is that there's nowhere else in Scotland that has textile of this size and of this age. "The fine weave is highly unusual for the time and area and, along with the fact there are remnants of a possible hem, it makes it a very rare and special discovery. "We believe this is the oldest of its type in Scotland." It is considered a unique example of a 2/1 twill weave, shedding light on some of the technologies society had in the Iron Age. Dr Susanna Harris, senior lecturer in archaeology at the University of Glasgow, analysed the textile on behalf of the centre. She said: "Wool was such an important material in Scotland, so it's been exciting to examine this piece. "It's really important finds like this go on display. "It may be a small piece of textile but it tells us a lot about the heritage of Scottish textiles." Crannogs were dwelling houses built on stilts over water and usually had a bridge connecting them to the shore. The first crannogs in Scotland were built on lochs from Neolithic times. The Scottish Crannog Centre's reconstructed crannog was destroyed by fire in 2021. It opened on its new and enlarged site near Kenmore last year and the build team is completing a new crannog using sustainable and historical construction methods.

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