Calvià plague of flies spread

The fly invasion which is sweeping Calvia is showing no signs of abating. Wendy Peters and her husband Michael are just two of the Calvia residents who are having trouble coping with the mass swarms of small flies whch have appeared over the last four weeks. Calvia Council, the richest council in Spain, seems to be slow to address the issue, which could spark health problems in the area. Mrs Peters said yesterday “If you walk outside you are attacked. It's disgusting. I think someone has opened up a rubbish tip because in the twenty years I've been here, I've never seen anything like it.” Her husband, Michael, is a constructer, and he says it is difficult to work under the conditions. “I have two jobs in the countryside at the moment and when you try and use the machinery, there are forty or fifty flies swarming all over you. It's almost impossible to get the job done.” Mr Peter's theory is that a sewerage system has malfunctioned, causing the flies to breed and hatch in their thousands. “Friends of mine have been here on holiday and when they left, they said their whole break was ruined because they couldn't invite friends over, they couldn't eat on the terrace or even go outside.” He has noticed that higher up in the San Font area the swarms are less and along the coast in Palma Nova there is also no problem; “It appears to be in an isolated area only.” He said yesterday.