THE outcry over Lancaster's controversial cattle reprocessing plant reached national levels this week. Nightingale Hall Farm came under the scrutiny of the national press amid fears of BSE contamination from the trails of animal waste found spilled across the town's roads in recent years. The Quernmore Road site was pinpointed as a health danger spot alongside a site in Staffordshire where effluent from a similar rendering plant has been used as land fertiliser.

Lancaster city councillor Jerry Sutton said: "This is a national problem but one which only local people have to put up with.

"Hopefully by getting more national publicity it will encourage the Government to see that they need to enforce more stringent regulations to stop plants being built next to people's homes.

"Lancaster City Council is powerless to move Nightingale Farms so we need help from the Government who should make it their responsibility."

Fears that the Lancaster plant will have to work overtime to deal with the BSE crisis have also mounted as well as concern that many nearby residents could be plagued by more intolerable smells during the summer months.

Tony Cunningham, the North Lancashire Euro MP, said: "I have written to the Ministry of Agriculture and the European Commission to insist on the drawing up of proper regulations.

"It is a problem that no one should have to put up with and I am making it my priority to deal with the problem."

Nightingale Hall Farm bosses were unavailable for comment.

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