TEESDALE District Council will monitor a waste transfer station after protestors said the company behind the site is bending the rules.

Residents of Stainton Grove, near Barnard Castle, have complained to the council about the smell coming from the compound.

The station is used for bin lorries to empty their loads, which are then collected and taken to landfill sites.

The company which runs the station, Premier Waste Management, was told by the council that the doors must be kept shut to avoid houses being affected by the smell.

But since then, residents have taken photographs showing the doors being left open.

Premier Waste Management said that the doors were opened due to a malfunction in the closing mechanism, and from now on will remain shut.

The council has organised a team to monitor the waste station to ensure that they stick to the rules set out.

Stainton councillor Robin Simpson said: "It may be that people are mistaking the smell from the waste transfer station with the smell from agricultural operations."