Villagers are battening down the hatches after being plagued by a swarm of flies.

Residents in villages near Braintree have taken to arming themselves with fly swats in a bid to ward of the unwelcome invasion.

Environmental protection manager for Braintree Council Lee Crabb said: "I had three officers working on it all day yesterday.

"They were trying to assess the point of origin of the flies, to see if they were coming from a particular source or whether this was just a natural phenomenon."

The pest professionals reckon the fly explosion has been the result of a mild winter and recent warm temperatures causing dormant fly eggs to hatch.

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