PARISH council chairmen in the Collingbournes area, who are angry that Kennet District Council has failed to prosecute the farmer responsible for a plague of flies that infested the villages for two weeks, are to meet to consider what action to take.

Cooler weather has seen a drop in the number of flies invading homes in the area around Collingbourne Kingston, Collingbourne Ducis, Everleigh and Upper Chute, but there are still large numbers of flies causing distress to residents.

Collingbourne Ducis parish chairman Tony Still said: "The plague has lasted nearly two weeks and it has been absolutely disgusting. We have had fly invasions every harvest time for the last five years, but it has never been as bad as this.

"Everyone who complained got a letter from Kennet District Council saying that it is highly unlikely that any one farmer is responsible for this infestation. That is rubbish. This has been caused by the use of chicken manure on farmland and it does not need rocket science to find the culprit. They just haven't been looking hard enough.

"I am meeting with the parish chairmen of Collingbourne Kingston and Everleigh later this week so we can formulate a joint approach to Kennet. We don't want this ever to happen again."

Villagers have been using rolls and rolls of fly paper, cans of fly spray and some have even moved out of the village while the plague has continued.

Dave Wheeler, landlord of the Barleycorn in Collingbourne Kingston, has kept the pub open but has apologised to drinkers and diners for the presence of so many flies.

He said: "The numbers of flies seem to be diminishing but they're still around. It has been horrendous for everyone.

"Once the flies appear it is already too late. The council needs to get on top of the problem for another year and make sure it doesn't happen again."

The council received 90 complaints from residents. Officers have identified the most common fly in the infestation as the lesser house fly, fannia canicularis.

A statement from the council's principal environment health officer, Kelvin Pearce, released on Tuesday, said: "Farms that have stockpiles of manure and have carried out spreading operations in the affected area have been inspected.

"However, to date no conclusive link has been ascertained between the agricultural practices being carried out and the current fly problem.

"Other areas where the public have advised that recent spreading has or is currently taking place have been inspected.

"However again, officers to date have not seen any evidence of agricultural malpractice that may give rise to the current problem."

Mr Pearce said scientific advice had been sought from the School of Biological Sciences at Bristol University and the London School of Hygiene on the habitat and life cycle of the fly species identified.

Contact has also been made with other local authorities where similar problems and investigations have taken place.

Mr Pearce said: "Investigations, consultations and monitoring are still going on but to date no conclusive evidence has come to light to indicate the source of these flies.

"Academic advice so far obtained has dismissed the cause of the problem as a natural phenomenon.

"Such a large and widespread infestation of flies is likely only to be attributable to poor agricultural practices, particularly from such areas as storage and stockpiling of waste material, to the spreading and incorporation of the waste of surrounding farmland.

"It is these areas that further investigations are likely to be focused on in an attempt to ensure that this problem does not recur."