Fairlie Community Council listened to a villager"s concerns about smog rising from a coal bing at Clydeport"s terminal which emanated over the local area.

The issue happened early one morning during the start of the month with the smog being seen hanging over some of the village. The "News" village correspondent Elaine Campbell had also mentioned the problem in her column shortly after it had happened.

Mr Alan Holden alerted councillors to the situation at the recent meeting at the Semple Centre and said that there was a clear stench.

He said: 'It appeared that one of the coal pipes had been on fire for a considerable time. The smog seemed to be going coming this way for a time. The village was covered in a fog and you could smell tar burning.' Community councillor John Riddell suggested that people should contact the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) in Ayr if there are any future problems.

In her Fairlie Notes, correspondent Elaine Cameron said: 'A resident has contacted me to voice concerns about the burning of coal bings at Clydeport, and the resulting smog which has been hanging over the village for some days.' Fairlie Community Council listened to a villager"s concerns about smog rising from a coal bing at Clydeport"s terminal which emanated over the local area.

The issue happened early one morning during the start of the month with the smog being seen hanging over some of the village. The "News" village correspondent Elaine Campbell had also mentioned the problem in her column shortly after it had happened.

Mr Alan Holden alerted councillors to the situation at the recent meeting at the Semple Centre and said that there was a clear stench.

He said: 'It appeared that one of the coal pipes had been on fire for a considerable time. The smog seemed to be going coming this way for a time. The village was covered in a fog and you could smell tar burning.' Community councillor John Riddell suggested that people should contact the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) in Ayr if there are any future problems.

In her Fairlie Notes, correspondent Elaine Cameron said: 'A resident has contacted me to voice concerns about the burning of coal bings at Clydeport, and the resulting smog which has been hanging over the village for some days.' A spokesperson from Clydeport said: 'Infrequently certain cargoes of Columbian coal can be volatile and measures including regular monitoring of all cargoes in the stockyard are in place to address this issue in the unlikely event it occurs. It was observed that this particular cargo had increased in temperature and active steps were taken to deal with this problem.

'At the outset SEPA and North Ayrshire Council were advised and were satisfied that all necessary measures had been taken to minimise environmental impact and that this situation presented no risk to public health. The cargo has now been removed from site.'