Mysterious weird smell baffles people in Leicester

Breaking news in Leicester: There's a nasty smell taking over the area. People on social media have been likening the stench to dog poo.

Leicester Mercury has deemed the smell enough of an issue to set up a live blog charting its progress.

Some people are claiming that the smell is due to muck spreading in the fields. Ross Tarbard comments on Facebook that it's "always done around this time of year, and because Leicester's a geographically small city, with the countryside right on the doorstep, the smells carry across the city".

According to the Leicester Mercury, Harborough District Council has confirmed that the smell is caused by muck spreading.

However, not all Leicester natives are convinced by this explanation. "I've never smelled muck spreading as bad as this. I've lived in Birstal for 48 years," comments Sheila Wilkinson on Facebook.

Leicester has been subjected to the stench for a while now: Rosemary Ronchetti comments on Facebook that it woke her up in the middle of the night. "We get smell off the fields often, but this is a different smell," she says.

Leicester residents have responded in the most normal way possible: with disgust.

Those who live north-west of Leicestershire, be on your guard: a south-easterly wind could be blowing the putrid smell in your direction very soon.

Whilst muck spreading seems to be the answer to this mystery, the Leicester Mercury live blog continues to get to the bottom of it all. We're waiting with bated breath (and pinched noses).