Landlady and neighbour to a burning mountain of rubbish left by Hunter Group says fumes from the fire may be making neighbours ill.

Sam Watt, who owns The Star Inn, says she’s been feeling dizzy and nauseous since a second fire broke out at the former Hunter Group site on Thursday.

Businesses near the Queens Mill Road site have been complaining of acrid smelling fumes coming from the site as firefighters battle to keep the blaze under control.

Ms Watt, who lives in the pub which is a stone’s throw from the site, says she and a customer, who also lives nearby, have been showing the same symptoms.

Garage owner Ian Roper, whose business is across the River Holme from the former Hunter Group site, sent a mechanic home on Friday after he was sick.

Sam, 44, said: “It’s a kind of dizziness and nausea where it feels like you could be sick.

“Yesterday I went away from the pub from 1pm to 6pm and I felt better.

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“But after I came back after 9pm I was feeling sick again.”

Sam added: “One of my customers who lives nearby said he was feeling ill so I wonder if anyone else is feeling the same.”

At around 6pm on Thursday, The Star Inn, Albert Street, was evacuated as drinkers were standing in the street finishing their pints.

Ownership of the site was said to have changed and the Environment Agency was working with the new owner to tackle the hundreds of tonnes of waste dumped there.

The Star Inn on Albert Street, Lockwood

The tip had been left locked up for weeks and residents had repeatedly complained about foul smells, swarms of flies and rats.

Last week the rotting rubbish heap caught fire and was smouldering deep inside for several days.

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Firefighters from Huddersfield spent days at the site damping it down to ensure a full-scale blaze didn’t erupt.

The Lockwood site was previously believed to have been owned by Hunter Group, run by 25-year-old Sam Hunter.

The Environment Agency has said ownership has changed but it has not said who is now responsible, though the agency said it was in talks with ‘the owner of Sam H Services’.