Mystery of the bad smell floating around Oxford
Thames Water have insisted sewage did not cause the stench
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A bad smell floating around Oxford has been baffling officials and turning residents’ stomachs.
The mystery odour, described by some as like “cheesy wotsits”, “sick” or just “awful” started on Monday night and continued into Tuesday.
It arrived on a warm night in the historical city, when many people had their windows open trying to catch a breeze.
Some assumed the stench was caused by raw sewage but Thames Water said its investigations had not found a problem.
A spokesman said teams at the Oxford sewage treatment works had reported that all equipment was working as usual and there have been no operational problems.
Gerry Vickers told the Oxford Times the smell had made it “impossible to go out” of his elderly mother’s house in Headington Quarry, Oxford.
He added: “The smell lingered from the afternoon until well into the early hours. At first we thought it was the food bin as it had been hot, but it was soon clear that this was not the case.”
The family called Thames Water but engineer found nothing wrong on Tuesday.
Oxford City Council have also received complaints and officers are looking into the issue.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments