The source of a stomach-churning stench wafting through Maidstone today can be revealed.

Chicken muck spread on a field in East Farleigh has brought a vile smell to the town centre, which is expected to last until at least tomorrow.

A council spokesman confirmed it has received a handful of complaints about the odour. The Environment Agency has also been contacted by several concerned callers.

A Maidstone Borough Council spokesman said: "We were informed this morning that poultry manure would be spread today on a farm in East Farleigh.

"Maidstone is surrounded by a great deal of working farmland and it is quite usual at this time of the year for farmers to spread silage/waste to fertilize depleted soil. It is standard agricultural practice and lawful.

"Animal waste and sewage sludge is pre-treated prior to spreading and there is no risk to human health.

"Farmers are encouraged to use Defra's 'Codes of Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Water, Air and Soil' to minimise odour when muck spreading. Environmental Enforcement will investigate complaints if the smell is persistent, ongoing and excessive."

The nasty scent will remind people of a similar smell which wafted through the area in January last year.

The nauseating stench was caused by a chemical that had leaked from a factory in Rouen, France and had blown across the Channel.

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