A MYSTERY stink likened to a soggy mop is plaguing a town.
The damp smell has left residents unwilling to open their windows or even to let their children play outside.
It has been hanging over Connah’s Quay, Flintshire, since April.
The county council is hiring a specialist to sniff out the cause while officials are visiting waste-producing businesses.
Councillor Dean Stenner said: “The smell is described as resembling a soggy mop or damp rotting clothes.
“The residents are suffering.
“They are experiencing a vast reduction in their quality of life, unable to allow children to play outside.
“They are constantly unable to open their windows as the odour fills the house.
“They are extremely concerned about the implications on their health.
This air pollution is not simply a slight odour.
“It’s significantly affecting quality of life.”
Local Sue Leyshon said: “It is just like a soggy mop.
“If you wash the floor then leave the mop hanging round for a couple of hours without rinsing it – it is just like that. Ugh!”