FAMILIES living near Fawley refinery claim foul-smelling emissions from the huge petro-chemical complex have left them feeling ill.

Dennis Connell, of Bevis Close, Blackfield, was overcome by a stink of methane gas from the refinery and phoned the refinery to find out what was going on.

Mr Connell said Esso staff told him that excess pressure in one of the towers had caused butane and sulphur gas to be released.

The smell left Mr Connell, 58, feeling nauseous with a thumping headache.

He said: "We always get nasty smells around here and I can smell the methane in my house again today. The problem has got totally out of hand."

Neighbour Tracey Everett, 37, said the disgusting smell made by emissions from the refinery made her feel physically sick.

"I thought I had a blockage in my downstairs toilet - the smell was unbearable," she said.

Refinery spokesman Delia Ponter said a massive construction project involving a £70 million catalytic cracker, designed to break down crude oil, had recently been completed.

Miss Ponter said: "We've been carrying out lots of checks on the machinery, and the fine-tuning has inevitably led to a few problems. I can reassure local residents that although the smell is nasty it is totally harmless - but we are very apologetic about the problems."

The refinery is also facing criticism over flares from the stacks.

Mr Connell said: "The flame is much louder now, and it often sounds like a plane is flying overhead. We don't need lights on at night sometimes because the flame lights up the whole street."

Miss Ponter said: "Unfortunately we can't avoid the flaring of the flame - it happened two weeks ago when oil was added to the flare stacks for the first time."

A district council spokesman said he was unaware of any recent complaints about the refinery.