A foul smell is driving people away from the centre of a village, business owners have claimed.
The stench, described as like rotten fish and eggs, and sour milk, has been coming out of an air vent in Churchtown, Southport.
“People just want to leave as soon as they can,” said Jennifer Berrett from the DBA School of Dance.
United Utilities said it had tried to get rid of the smell and was monitoring the situation.
The smell around the Cambridge Road area has been coming from an air vent that has earned the nickname the “stink pipe”.
“The smell has been a big factor in my moving shops as I cant have the door open on a hot day as the smell is too bad to tolerate,” said Lesley Macbain from the House of Mojos hairdressers on Cambridge Road.
A report into the problem said that filling the air vent with concrete had “caused the manhole cover and frame to lift from the manhole chamber wall and then caused sewerage to spill from the chamber”.
Local councillor Mike Sammon said: “Everyone knows about this issue and it’s well known in the area.”
A United Utilities spokesperson said: “We carried out an investigation and subsequently took a number of actions that have helped to significantly reduce the odours being emitted.”
The firm would “continue to monitor the situation and investigate how we can further minimise any odours”, the spokesman added.