RESIDENTS close to a large apple juice factory say their life has been made a misery by the “stench” from a waste water lagoon.Carlos Swiderski , who lives close to the plant near Boxford, claimed his family have put up with foul smells for years and said he was unhappy with juicemaker Copella's attitude.

RESIDENTS close to a large apple juice factory say their life has been made a misery by the “stench” from a waste water lagoon.

Carlos Swiderski , who lives close to the plant near Boxford, claimed his family have put up with foul smells for years and said he was unhappy with juicemaker Copella's attitude.

He said he was shocked the firm, which is owned by PepsiCo - producer of other juice brands including Tropicana - was allowed to carry out processes that produced such a smell.

The company denied allegations the smell had been a persistent problem for years but apologised for any inconvenience caused by recent odours, which a spokesman said had been caused by a “short-term technical difficulty” in its waste treatment system.

Mr Swiderski, however, said he was at the end of his tether over the issue. “This has been going on for about five or 10 years and I am sick of it. The stench covers the whole area. The water comes out of the factory and gathers in a lagoon - they then spray the water over apples,” he said.

“Last year I was told there was going to be a remedy but then the smell came back so only time will tell if they will fix it.”

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said officers were monitoring Copella's Boxford plant but said insisted the firm's activities there were legal.

“They are pumping their waste water into the lagoon which is legal,” he said. “We are monitoring them but it is totally fine. Spraying the water back over the trees is a sensible way of recycling the water.

“The reason there is a smell is because they are aerating the lagoon - issues relating to the smell are a local authority issue.”

A Babergh District Council spokesman said: “Babergh received a complaint about smells coming from a lagoon on the Copella site and a Babergh officer met with the Environment Agency and the company.

“We understand that the company has started to sort out the cause of the problem but Babergh is writing to them regarding the incident and will continue to monitor the situation over the next week or so.”

A spokesperson for Copella said the smell had not been a persistent problem but issue an apology for any inconvenience caused by the recent odour.

“The smell was caused by short-term technical difficulty with our factory's waste treatment system, which has now been rectified,” he said.

“Since the occurrence the local council and Environment Agency have checked the waste treatment system and given it the all-clear.”

will.clarke@eadt.co.uk