THE lingering smell of cheese has long since disappeared from Worcester's quaintly named Cheshire Cheese Entry, but more offensive odours are upsetting people who use the alley to get to work.

One of them is Maurice Francis, of Gilmour Crescent, Worcester, who is fed up with picking his way through rubbish and litter in the alleyway, off Foregate Street.

There are bursting black bags strewn at the side of the passage, spilling out litter onto the ground around wheelie bins.

"Not only do we have to put up

with the fact that it is used as a public toilet, we now have to pass a potential health hazard," he said.

"This situation has been there for some time and at the end of last week one of my colleagues was very upset when she saw a rat among the mess."

He said he had twice telephoned Worcester City Council's environmental services department, but

they did not appear to be interested in the problem.

However, the head of environmental services, Mike Harrison, said he was not aware of any recent complaints, although he conceded there had been problems there in the past.

"It does smell down there. What we can do is send the chewing gum team in with a high pressure washer, but then we risk unsettling the paving slabs," he said.

"If the rubbish is on the public highway we will clear it up. Otherwise we will have to trace the owners of the wheelie bins and sacks."

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