CARDIGAN town councillors are kicking up a stink about an unpleasant smell that has been reported in the town.

The odious odour has triggered numerous complaints – yet its source remains a mystery.

Now councillors plan to quiz Welsh Water officials at a meeting planned to be held in St Dogmaels later this month - amid continuing fears that sewage has entered the River Teifi.

“The smell is absolutely disgusting,” town mayor Cllr Trystan Phillips told colleagues. “I’ve had several complaints from various people about this.

“It was particularly awful in North Road – we should contact Welsh Water as matter of urgency because for all we know this could have an effect on people’s health.

“There’s a meeting planned for St Dogmaels later this month and two town councillors are invited to attend.

“We will be making sure that representations are made on behalf of residents – the smell has been quite disgusting in Cardigan.”

Cllr Marilyn Farmer said the smell had come up through the drains and into her home.

“It was pretty grim,” she added.

Cllr Olwen Davies claimed a sewage outflow from the Gloster Row slipway was in constant use.

“We have a wonderful resource in the river which during the summer was fully utilised by paddleboarders and kayakers, so it’s terrible to think what might be going into the water,” she said.

“There’s also a manhole on the Quay and during the River and Food Festival the stench coming out of it was unbelievable."

Cllr Clive Davies said a full investigation was required.

“Welsh Water need to invest and look into the system they have right across the board,” he added.

Only last month it emerged that a probe into reported pollution in the Teifi at St Dogmaels had drawn a blank.

People living near the waterway have complained of strong smells, giving rise to fears that raw sewage had flowed into the river.

But investigations by both Welsh Water staff and Natural Resources Wales officers failed to pinpoint a source.

Prior to that Ceredigion Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Elizabeth Evans slammed Welsh Water bosses and the Welsh Government after raw sewage was dumped into Ceredigion’s coastline.