RESIDENTS say they are being forced out of their homes by "disgusting" smells emanating from York's sugar beet plant.

The vile odour has been caused by problems with the British Sugar site's water treatment process, off Boroughbridge Road, and is different from the sickly-sweet sugar beet smell that periodically wafts across the city from the plant.

Don Cartwright, of nearby Paddock Way, off Boroughbridge Road, complained to City of York Council after the "gruesome smell" forced him from his living room.

"The stink from that place is unbelievable," he said.

"It has been so bad that we've not been able to sit in the living room.

"It's like being locked in a room with someone who has got rampant diarrhoea.

"I phoned the factory to complain about it, but was put through to an answer machine which is disgraceful.

"I've lived here for 35 years and never known such a prolonged smell."

Robert Graham, 21, who also lives off Boroughbridge Road, said: "The smell is very unpleasant. It's unfair that the community should have to put up with it. Hopefully, British Sugar will sort it out."

Mike Southcombe, City of York Council's environment protection officer, said the council had received 14 complaints about the smell from the site.

"We've been in touch with British Sugar and we are investigating the cause of the smell.

"They've reassured us that they are not doing anything different. It may be that the smell is not dispersing because of the still weather conditions."

A British Sugar spokesman said: "We can confirm that we received some complaints on Monday from residents regarding odour from the site during the weekend.

"We identified a couple of areas of concern in our water treatment process and these have since been addressed.

"We believe the situation is now much improved and we are continuing to monitor the position closely."

Updated: 11:05 Friday, December 12, 2003