Farm family 'blamed for flies'

About 30 people gathered on the village green to discuss the flies

A farming family blamed for causing an infestation of flies say they have received abusive phone calls and threatening letters.

The flies began to appear in the Kent village of Benenden last month, but numbers soared in the hot weather of the last couple of weeks.

The problem was blamed on a farm in the village stockpiling chicken manure and the local council told residents it would take action to stop it happening again.

But the Cyster family, who run Walkhurst Farm, say they have done everything by the book and are not to blame.

Two pubs in the village had to close because of the number of flies in the bars.

The village store had to stop selling fresh food such as bread and cakes.

I think we're being used as a scapegoat Farmer's wife Anne Cyster

Similar outbreaks of flies have happened across the country during the recent hot weather.

After an infestation in Wiltshire, the local council called in experts in agricultural fly control to help.

In Benenden, dozens of residents gathered on the village green on Saturday morning to discuss how the flies have affected them.

'It's been hell'

But the Cyster family say they are not the only farm in the area to use chicken manure and they have done everything according to official guidelines.

Anne Cyster, who runs the farm with her husband John and their children, said: "It's been hell really."

"I'm here a lot on my own and we keep getting letters in the post and we've had people phoning up saying 'what are you going to do about it?'.

"We try to put our side of the story, but they don't seem to want to listen.

"We feel we're not the only cause - if we are a cause and we don't think we are.

"I think we're being used as a scapegoat."

John Kingsnorth said there was no evidence of fly larvae in the manure

John Kingsnorth, works on the farm and said he was up all night working the manure into the ground after it was first laid, with guidelines saying it should be done within 24 hours.

He said: "I would have thought if there was an infestation of flies in our field you would be able to see larvae or the casings in the chicken manure, but there's nothing at all."

About 30 people gathered on the village green on Saturday morning at a meeting called by residents to discuss the flies.

People there were told the parish council would be holding an official meeting to address the issue on Thursday.

They were told an environmental health officer from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, an entomologist and a representative of the National Farmers' Union were all expected to be at Thursday's meeting.

Residents were also asked to fill out a questionnaire explaining how the flies had affected them and how much they thought they had spent on measures to tackle the flies.