Yorkshire Water is investing a massive £450,000 in a bid to beat a plague of flies causing misery for the residents of a Bradford village.

Swarms of midges have appeared again in Esholt after invading homes and gardens in the village in May and June last year.

Experts have pinpointed the village's sewage works - one of the biggest in the country - as the source of the problem and Yorkshire Water has now invested almost half a million pounds on insecticides and filter bed netting to prohibit the midges' movements.

Yorkshire Water's Paul Blackburn is pictured inspecting some of the 200-plus bright blue light devices - known as "insecticutors" - which attract insects and then electrocute them when they come into contact with the energy source, that are also installed on the perimeter of the filter beds to minimise the scourge.

Patra Heaton, of Underwood Drive, said she hoped the investments would eradicate the midges before they produced a repeat of the nightmare situation seen last year.

"So far it is difficult to tell if the problems are going to be as bad as last year when the midges were in abundance," she said. "It completely spoilt the summer last year. It made life very difficult. The midges were in the fridge, in the kettle, and I did not dare leave food out as there were swarms of them all around.

"It was impossible to spend any time in the garden and have a barbecue or take food or drinks outside."

Sylvicola fenestralis - more commonly known as the window midge - thrives in warm, wet weather and is specific to sewage works.

Yorkshire Water spokesman David Simister said that serious action had already been taken to prevent problems again this summer.

"We dosed the biological filters last week with insecticide," he said. "The timing of the dosing was determined by our own biologists and external consultants.

"The initial dose will be followed up in three weeks time with another dose. The cost of the exercise will be £55,000.

"In addition to the insecticide we have spent in the region of £450,000 on netting the filters."

Mr Simister added that the use of an effective insecticide against the midges used in previous years was stopped because its active ingredient was organophosphate, a banned substance in insecticides.

He said: "Yorkshire Water is doing its utmost to ensure that the nuisance is reduced as soon as possible. We want to be good neighbours with the residents of the area."

A spokesman for Bradford Council's Environmental Protection service said that the authority had received only one complaint this year about the midges but would be liaising with Yorkshire Water to keep on top of the problem.

The midges are expected to disappear by mid July as their season is very short.