RESIDENTS of a Hampshire town are holding their noses this morning after reports of a strong gas smell.

Fareham Council says it has launched an investigation to find the source of the unusual pong.

A statement says: "Gas engineers are on-site investigating this.

"We will keep you updated."

Hannah Brett, a spokeswoman for gas network company SGN, said: "We’ve had a number of calls regarding a smell in the air in the Fareham and Whiteley area this morning.

"We've brought in engineers from our Aldershot, Poole and Sussex depots to support our response.

"There’s nothing so far to suggest the smell came from our network.

"However we would always recommend that anyone who can smell gas should call the national gas emergency number on 0800 111 999."

Residents have taken to social media to report the aroma.


The reports follow a similar incident earlier in the month when an unusual stink was reported to have wafted across the Solent.

SGN was called but said it could find no evidence that the odour was related to its network.