Waste plant operators will not have to remove 1,200 tonnes of rotting rubbish from their site – at least for the moment.

Kent Enviropower has been ordered to remove the rotting rubbish from the Allington incinerator site, near Maidstone, which some residents blamed for making their neighbourhood "smelly and fly-ridden".

The company had initially been given until Friday last week to remove the waste, with Environment Agency officials warning that failure to comply could result in legal action.

However, the Environment Agency has reviewed the order and is no longer demanding the removal of the waste.

An Environment Agency statement said: "We have insisted that the company continues with the fly-control measures that they have been taking. This seems to have considerably reduced the numbers on site in the last few days.

"If the present pest-control action ceases to be sufficient to control the flies we will look to taking further enforcement action."