New Earswick residents are really sniffy about the ripe odours wafting over the village.

But the heady scent of muck-spreading is one of the hazards of living in an agricultural area.

These natural smells cannot be any worse than the exhaust emissions and fast food fumes that routinely assault the olfactory senses of the city dweller.

New Earswick villagers should inhale with a smile.

After all, the stench is proof that the local farms still boast some livestock: after BSE, swine fever and foot and mouth, that is something we should be happy about.

Happy as a pig in muck, in fact.

Updated: 10:41 Wednesday, August 15, 2001