Stenching agent leak causes smell on island

Residents complained about a putrid smell after a stenching agent leaked from a gas storage facility.

The smell came from the Calor terminal on Canvey Island, Essex, on Monday evening, but no flammable gas escaped the 85-acre (34ha) site, the company said.

Stenching agent is a pungent chemical added to odourless gas, alerting people when it is leaking.

A Calor spokesman said "concern and disruption" caused by the smell was regrettable.

Engineers managed to fix the issue by 21:30 BST and an investigation was launched into how it occurred.

"We can confirm there has not been any release of the LPG gas stored on the island and there is no threat to public health or the environment," a spokesman added.

Rebecca Harris, the Conservative MP for Castle Point, said gas company Cadent carried out safety checks on Monday evening.

She planned to speak to Calor on Tuesday "to find out more details about what happened and what is being done to prevent this from happening again".

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