RESIDENTS of Wyre Piddle and Lower Moor were inundated with swarms of flies over the Bank Holiday weekend.

People were forced to retreat indoors to avoid the plague of insects instead of enjoying the fine weather.

Angry residents claim this is not the first time they have experienced such problems.

Resident Jim Coward said: "We have this problem every year at this time. We thought with the bypass traffic it would not be as bad but it is far worse this year."

Mr Coward runs Aldbury House bed and breakfast in the village. He said if the situation continued his livelihood would suffer.

He added: "We literally had to barricade ourselves inside before we could eat. In Wyre Piddle in particular we are beginning to risk losing business."

Nigel Green, landlord of The Anchor pub is another resident who has found his business suffering.

He said: "We had to shut the pub for two hours on Monday because the flies were so bad.

"They get worse as the day goes on and people in the village are fed up with it."

Mr Green has been forced to spend money on fly screens to ensure his pub complies with health and safety standards.

Mr Coward contacted the Environment Agency about the influx of flies and they sent an inspector to the nearby Hill and Moor Landfill site to try and locate the source of the problem but agency spokesman Oliver Blackburn said the exact source had yet to be identified.

Mr Blackburn added: "We sent an officer to the site on Tuesday.

"The company that operates the site is complying with fly protocol, which requires spraying. This was done on Tuesday afternoon."

John Lashley, operations director at Severn Waste, the company running the landfill site, said: "We are aware of several complaints in the Wyre Piddle area and we have agreed to increase the treatment for flies. We are doing everything we can."