VILLAGERS and community leaders have united to stop a hamburger van operating in Willersey - saying it will attract rats, yobs and create foul smells.

Mr Mehmet Okten from Chipping Norton has applied to Cotswold District Council for street trading consent to sell food and drink from a lay-by on the B4632 road to Broadway.

The application, which could see the van operating from 7am until 1am every day, has prompted a flurry of objections.

Nearby resident Roger Kearney urged the council to throw out the application. "We are nauseated by the smell of burgers at night and find it extremely offensive. We now cannot open our windows without smelling this horrible concoction.

"Particularly, however, we are worried about yob culture that this van will attract during the summer nights. We are already plagued by gangs of youths returning to Willersey from Broadway late at night.

"I speak on behalf of myself and my neighbours when I say that we have house signs trashed and thrown in the opposite fields, tyres on our cars punctured and we ourselves had had our locked iron gates forced open and our pot plants smashed.

"We are also very much aware that there is a drug problem in both Broadway and Willersey which appears to go unchecked."

Neighbour Brendan Byrne said he also feared rats. "The smell from the van is offensive and the rubbish left behind attracts vermin."

Parish Clerk Philip Ord has raised objections on the grounds of road safety, litter nuisance and the lack of demand. He also said it would be out of keeping with the area. "The site has one of the best views of the Cotswolds escarpment looking to Willersey Hill and Saintbury.

"Placing a snack bar her would constitute a proverbial blot on the landscape."

Gloucestershire County Council has also expressed concern. Adam Gamble from its environment directorate said: "The lay-by chosen is very narrow with no protection from passing traffic. It is felt that there is a health and safety issue with customers walking to and from parked vehicles due to the narrow nature of the lay-by. The lay-by is also not lit and winter weather conditions with fog, ice and snow can increase the already present hazards."

A decision on granting street trading consent is due to be taken at a meeting of district council's licensing committee on Monday, February 14.