People living near Greater Manchester say they're being battered by 'choking clouds'

Residents living near a quarry say they're being battered by choking clouds of dust and debris thrown up from its pits.

They have voiced fears over air pollution and environmental damage surrounding Whitworth Quarry, close to Cowm Reservoir, on the border of Rossendale and Rochdale.

Several visitors, and people with homes nearby, have raised concerns - with a councillor saying she believes a young cormorant died near the reservoir because of dust inhalation.

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The Woodland Trust has embarked on a widespread tree planting scheme in order to 'encourage birds and wildlife to return to the area, and hide the landscape scars caused by excessive stone quarrying'. But walkers say they are concerned that the levels of dust coming from the quarry are causing pollution to the reservoir and impacting on air quality.

One even shared a picture showing his boots and legs thick with dirt, reports LancsLive.

Fairhurst Stone has a licence to extract stone from the quarry, which was granted by Lancashire County Council. However, as the site and its operations, along with the issues raised, come under the jurisdiction of several local authorities and agencies including Rossendale Borough Council, the Environment Agency and United Utilities, Whitworth resident Colin Hubbard said he has had difficulties getting answers from the powers that be.

He said: "The stone crusher(s) should be impounded immediately and rendered inoperable until such time as the quarry owners can adapt them to contain the pollution in situ or relocate them to contain the pollution within the bounds