A RAPID reaction team of specially trained sniffers has been set up by the council to closely monitor the bad smell from Nightingale Hall Farm.

The council workers will mobilise as soon as residents complain about "nasty niffs" coming from the rendering plant.

The move is one of a number of measures drawn up by the authority to prevent offensive odours emanating beyond the plant's boundaries.

This week the city council's director of community services, Peter Loker, described how the council was doing everything in its powers to bring an end to the notorious smell.

The measures include - a council operated Rapid Response Programme to deal with reports of smells from residents, full training for staff associated with the Rapid Response Programme, routine monitoring for smells around the site, full training and testing for council staff to check that their sense of smell is within the 'normal' range.

Although there is new Government legislation which states that there must be "no offensive odour beyond the boundary of the site" this statement is the subject of different interpretations by the groups concerned.

Mr Loker said: "The council takes residents' concerns extremely seriously and is wholly committed to tackling the situation and is doing everything in its powers to prevent problems caused by offensive odours.

He added: "It would appear that for some time now problems associated with Nightingale Hall Farm had reduced somewhat with only a handful of complaints over the last four months. However, we do experience occasional surges in complaints and we are working with the company to identify the reasons for this and take action to prevent future recurrences. We are pleased that the company is proposing to set up a local liaison committee to bring residents, enforcement agencies and company representatives together to improve communications and understanding of each other."