SUFFOLK folk ventured out of their houses tentatively today, a day after many had a rude awakening when a pungent smell floated across from the continent.

SUFFOLK folk ventured out of their houses tentatively today, a day after many had a rude awakening when a pungent smell floated across from the continent.

The so-called “Euro-whiff” reached our shores yesterday morning, leading to an unpleasant start to the day for many in the county.

The Met Office received numerous reports from across Suffolk about the arrival of what its experts were diplomatically calling “an atmospheric aroma”.

The smell then penetrated other parts of southern England and reached as far west as Devon and as far north as Northampton. However the garbage-infused aroma seemed to lessen in strength in Suffolk during the afternoon.

The Met Office said it had received dozens of calls from the public asking about the European pong.

Sarah Holland, a spokesman for the Met Office, said: “We don't know what it is.

“We've had a lot of calls. We had a variety of smells reported from Suffolk.

“Suffolk seems to be where it hit first.”

With warnings of similar weather conditions for the next few days, meteorologists were predicting that the whiff could cause a few more eye-watering moments yet.

This time though it seemed Dutch farmers might not be the only ones to blame as muck spreading in Holland - said to be the cause of a number of previous foul smells to drift across the North Sea on the prevailing winds - was only one of several possible causes.

Instead the Met Office was unable to say exactly what the source of the Euro-whiff was but it believed either farming or industrial methods were to blame.

The origin of the smell was narrowed down to an area of Europe bordered by Holland, Germany and Belgium.

The nature of the whiff ranged from manure to sulphur and to festering garbage.

And it seems the wrong kind of wind was to blame for it reaching British shores. Normally the winds hitting the UK come from the west, having travelled across the Atlantic.

However yesterday - and for a few days to come - the wind was coming from the east.

Easterly winds can bring with them bad smells generated by industry or farming on the continent.

Did you have the misfortune of smelling the Euro-whiff? How would you describe it? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk