MINISTRY of Agriculture officials have solved the riddle of a closed road in a Worcestershire village.

Residents of Cutnall Green, near Droitwich, were concerned MAFF was concealing what was happening in New Road.

The lane has been signposted as closed since animals were killed at Blindfields Farm.

MAFF has said that it is completing a massive clear-up operation in the area.

But villagers say they were kept in the dark.

"MAFF aren't telling us anything. The whole situation is nonsense," said John Quinn, who lives in the village.

"All we can see is them driving down the lane. They're spraying something that could be disinfectant and moving muck from one place to another."

He said villagers were originally told the road would be shut for the slaughter and clearing of infected animals.

But nothing had been said about when the road might reopen.

Blindfields Farm was confirmed as an infected site on Tuesday, March 20, but livestock had been slaughtered several days before as dangerous contacts.

Clearing up

"We're currently clearing up at the farm," said a MAFF spokeswoman.

"Sometimes part of the road and farm aren't in a good condition and they have to be repaired before we can start disinfecting them.

"If we didn't repair them the disinfectant would wash off and our efforts would be wasted. The work should be finished shortly."

But Mr Quinn claims he believes there are more "sinister" reasons why MAFF are present.

"The farmer who used to work the land also had an abattoir and used the blood to spread across the fields," he said.

"Any blood left over would go in a storage tank. We think this is leaking into the ground, which would explain the effluent on the lane. It has really stunk.

"But what are MAFF doing here? It doesn't look like they're doing anything. It's very sinister."