Nestle Purina Pet Care is ploughing more than £250,000 into reducing unpleasant odours which have led to complaints from people living close to its Sudbury factory.

The emissions from the factory do not pose any danger to public health, they comply with environmental guidelines and levels have been within regulations for the past few years.

But public complaints tend to reach a pitch in the summer months when residents are spending time in their gardens.

Nestle Purina has set up a new liaison group which was invited to the factory recently to hear about measures already being taken to combat the problem.

This includes continuing to work closely with the Environment Agency as part of an ongoing odour management plan and an investment of more than £250,000 in equipment to help decrease emission sources. New control software has also enabled the company to monitor emissions more successfully.

Sudbury mayor Adrian Osborne, who is part of the liaison group, told Sudbury Town Council he was impressed with the company’s commitment.

He said Nestle Purina play a “big part in the community” and are planning to introduce an apprenticeship scheme to get young people involved in skilled production processes.

He said: “The odour coming from the factory has been causing concern for many years but Nestle Purina has changed the way they operate their processes.

“They were very welcoming and told the four residents who attended that £250,000 has already been invested in trying to combat the odour.

“They are using high technology to get rid of the smell and they are going to monitor it every day.

“I am convinced that they are committed to working with the community, and the residents who attended were very satisfied.”

Fellow councillor Jack Owen added: “They have been annoying the community for many years with this foul smell and it’s just a shame they didn’t set up this group years ago.”