THE stink of pig muck and sewage sludge sent gardeners rushing indoors.

But one resident investigating the smell - coming from a muck heap on farmland between Tyldesley and Leigh - was horrified to find a dead piglet on top of the midden.

This week Leigh farmer John Stafford, who leases the reclaimed grazing land, admitted the corpse should never have been dumped there.

Joan Unsworth of Kings Crescent, Tyldesley, who found the carcass, complained to her local councillor.

Now she is demanding action to prevent a repeat occurence.

Mrs Unsworth told The Journal: "The smell was so bad we couldn't open the windows. It was so strong it was as if a pile of sludge had been dumped on our garden.

"The stench was so horrible that I went to take a closer look and found to my horror the carcass of a piglet was on top of the stinking dump.

"Dumping such foul waste is a risk to everyone's health. We have housing for the elderly and a number of schools close by. Such disregard for hygienic waste disposal puts the most vulnerable in our community at risk.

"Living close to farmland we expect the smell of manure and other fertilizers. We are quite used to this and accept it as a regular occurrence.

"However, whatever is being dumped on this land at present is making life extremely unhealthy and unpleasant." Farmer Mr Stafford, of Walmsley House Farm, commented: "The dumping that goes on at this site is mainly pig muck really which had come from a local pig farm.

"But this week we have also had two tractor-trailer loads of sludge from North West Water in Leigh.

"I must admit there were two pre-weaner piglet carcasses dumped on the site last week by accident, but they weren't big animals and they have now been buried properly. It won't happen again.

"The carcasses were thrown onto a load of waste by accident and that's how they ended up on my field, but I don't think they were any health hazard.

"The smell isn't normally that bad, but if the wind is blowing the wrong way then I suppose people can smell some of the sludge, though I wouldn't say it was too strong."

A council spokesman said: "We are concerned about the issue of dead piglets and the Environmental Health Department will be investigating the complaint.

"As for the general smell it appears there is a lot of slurry spreading going on at the moment at a number of farms. However, there is a Ministry of Agriculture Code of Practice which must be followed and we are investigating this also to make sure it is followed."

The gruesome remains of one of the dead piglets is pictured on the Tyldesley site.

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