A foul stench coming from a waste treatment plant was caused by a host of problems, a new report has found.

One of these was a gap in the building letting the smell escape, despite recent multi-million-pound works to enclose the facility.

Neighbours have long been complaining about what they call ‘The Stink’ coming from Associated Waste Management (AWM) in Canal Road, Frizinghall, Bradford.

The plant, which processes household rubbish on behalf of Bradford Council, had tried to stem the problem by installing 17 hi-tech air purifiers and a new £2.5m roof to enclose the plant. But on June 10, residents complained to the Environment Agency that ‘The Stink’ had returned.

The new Council report says Environment Agency and Council staff met with the site’s directors the next day, and identified a number of issues. These were: * The filtration system was not working properly.

* The wrong filters had been fitted by the supplier.

* Bales of waste, exported to Europe to be burnt as fuel, were not being rotated to ensure the older bales left the site first.

* A gap in an adjoining building was found, which was allowing odours to escape.

The firm’s supplier has now replaced the filters, and extra ones are being installed.

Work is alking place to seal up the gap and managers have been given further training on odour management, the report says.

But a group of residents yesterday handed in a petition to Bradford Council, calling for more robust action. One of them, teacher John Atkinson, said the report raised serious questions about the original work done to seal the building.

AWM business development director Tim Shapcott said the firm was in the process of installing a £100,000 air scrubbing system.

He said: “We intend to remedy and improve matters. We are working towards the common goal of getting it right first time. It’s just taking a little bit longer than we hoped.”

The report is to be discussed by the Council environment and waste management overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday.

Coun Mohammad Shabbir (Respect, Heaton) said: “I want the scrutiny committee to get to the bottom of this. If AWM are going to put more filters in place, that’s fantastic, but I want to see it robustly monitored.”

Councillor Andrew Thornton, Bradford Council’s executive member for the environment, said: “We are working with the Environment Agency and the company, pressing both to achieve an improvement and alleviate the problem for residents.”