Silsden parish councillor Chris Atkinson will face his third public inquiry next week over claims of nuisance relating to his scrapyard business.

Residents overlooking his yard in the town claim they have endured years of noise, dirt and fumes from the site.

But Mr Atkinson says the legal wranglings are a result of one couple's vendetta against himself and his family.

The firm, Silsden Mini-skips, is run by Mr Atkinson and his father, Trevor. It faces allegations of 30 breaches of licensing conditions between August 28, 1998, and January 7 this year.

Pensioners Norman and Audrey Rushworth have handed over video evidence to North Eastern Traffic Area bosses based in Leeds.

They claim this shows breaches of the conditions set down by transport chiefs when the company was granted a licence to operate the business on land at High Green Farm, off Bradley Road in Silsden.

A transport tribunal hearing is to take place next Tuesday morning when evidence from both sides will be given.

This week Mr Atkinson told the Herald he was fed up of the "constant hassle" from the Rushworths.

"Of course it's a vendetta," he said. "We've just had hassle after hassle since 1991 and we're just fed up of it. I'm writing to environmental secretary John Prescott about the way we've been treated."

Mr Rushworth, of nearby Oak Tree Court, claimed the peace and quiet of the area had been shattered three years after he and his wife moved in.

"It's just the lorry and its nuisance and not the man," he said.

"He runs his engine really early in the morning just yards from our bedroom window.

"My wife can't put her washing out because it just gets covered in specks of muck. We also suffer from fumes and the place looks unsightly too - it's just a continuous nuisance.

"This is the third inquiry which has taken place over the site and it's just driving me and my wife frantic."

Back in 1994 the Herald reported how Mr Atkinson had been locked in conflict with residents whose homes bordered his scrapyard.

He had been told to stop using the land for the storage and sorting of waste, but this was overturned by Government inspector David Rusdale.

He ruled that the firm was immune from enforcement because the site had been used as a waste transfer station for more than 10 years.

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