Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, farmers started spreading muck on their fields on the hottest day of the year.

As Britain baked in record 40.3C heat and residents flew open doors and windows in a desperate bid to keep cool, tractors were out in Sittingbourne yesterday (Tuesday) fertilising fields with smelly manure.

Mum-of-two Fiona Woodward of Albany Road wrote: "Unbelievably, they're muck-spreading in Sittingbourne right now at 10am and the smell is wafting through the window.

"Surely there must be a special circle of the inferno reserved for farmers who choose to do this on the hottest day in history?"

She admitted: "It is not as strong as past years but it was enough for my daughter and I to have to go indoors. We had been sitting in the garden in the shade.

"It started about 9am and was still going strong at 10am."

She was unable to pinpoint the culprits but said it was likely the pong had originated from Borden, Tunstall, Rainham or Sheppey.

She added: "There's a tiny bit of wind so I am still getting whiffs of it. The main brunt seems to be over for now but it is still very definitely there. I just couldn't believe anyone would do this on the hottest day of the year."

Farmworker Matt Barnes said: "The only muck I know being spread is near the Sheppey rugby club. Farmers do this after harvesting and before the next round of planting.

"It's the best time of year to spread muck. It really does make us laugh when people think it should be spread in winter because their windows are shut."

He added: "If people live in a rural area the spreading of fertiliser has to be expected. I wouldn’t move next to a railway line and complain about the sound of trains.

"It is also worth pointing out that people make exaggerated comments like 'the smell made me sick' but they don’t give any thought to the tractor drivers who are recycling their waste.

"Human, paper and compost is a beneficial ingredient to soil health and is used to grow people's food.

"That's even more important these days with the loss of food usually produced by Ukraine."