The boss of a car engineering business working near a Bradford rendering plant claims his trade and health are suffering from the stench of decaying animals sent to the site.

Nigel Hobson claimed today he was having to cope with smells coming from trucks waiting to enter the Waddington and Co plant in Buck Street, off Leeds Road, pictured.

The plant has a contract with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to process the carcasses of cattle and sheep culled during the foot and mouth crisis.

All lorries entering and leaving the site are thoroughly disinfected, and carcasses dealt with on the day they arrive.

But Mr Hobson complained that the stench outside the plant from carcasses in the lorries has become so bad that he had approached Bradford Council's environmental protection department.

Mr Hobson, who runs Hobson Motor Sport in Dryden Street, said: "It's crippled my business. The workload has plummeted.

"My health has suffered - I've had an upset stomach and my appetite's not what it was.

"I'm sitting around most of the time now. I've had customers say they won't be bringing their vehicles to me while this is going on.

"People are frightened by it."

Richard Wixey, the Council's environmental protection and waste management director, said he appreciated concerns raised about the smell.

"We understand it was coming from some lorries which were waiting to be unloaded at the site. We contacted MAFF asking them to ensure that lorries are not left waiting at the site and to liaise more closely with the company, who are also concerned about the number of vehicles arriving at once.

"MAFF gave us assurances about how the operation would work and we will be urging them to stick to this. There is no risk to public health."

Mark Waddington, managing director of the rendering plant, said he was aware of the smell but said it was coming from the animals before they enter the plant for processing.

"There's no smell coming out of the plant - it's the animals coming in that are making the smell," he said, "Some of the material is a week old.

"We don't have a choice on the matter.

"Not all the cattle we process have foot and mouth. We also deal with ones that are touching affected farms which might not be infected themselves, but which MAFF deems suitable for slaughter."

Mr Waddington said he appreciated people's concerns.

A MAFF spokesman said all foot and mouth affected carcasses were transported under the strictest guidelines set down by the Government.