WORK has started on the demolition of a slaughterhouse that blighted the lives of villagers for three years after it was controversially re-opened.

Residents campaigned tirelessly to force Boosbeck Abattoir to clean up its act after they were plagued by the noise and smells emanating from the site in the heart of the east Cleveland village.

The £3m halal slaughterhouse opened on the site of a previous abattoir in 2013 and villagers had launched a number of unsuccessful legal challenges to have it closed.

The abattoir operators, BHM, went into administration last June, but villagers feared the slaughterhouse would simply reopen under new ownership.

Neville Brown, who campaigned tirelessly for the closure of the abattoir, welcomed the start of work on the building.

He said: "The feeling in the village is of absolute relief that demolition has begun and this scandalous saga is coming to an end.

"We are all now looking forward to a future without the problems we had all face because of a slaughterhouse so close to our homes, that should never of been allowed in the first place.

"We would just like to thank everyone who supported this villages fight, they all know who they are, but especially ex-Councillor David Williams.

"I remember our first conversation with our lawyer, he said 'if the general public think something is so wrong, it usually is'.

"It would have been easy to give up when facing council panels and committees, endless procrastination and obstructions from them, but we didn't, because we knew it should have been."

In February, residents submitted a petition to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's planning committee with 143 signatories opposing a proposed housing scheme on the site with concerns raised about the level of development and the loss of open space.

However, the application also received support from villagers who urged developers, Hesland Green, to take into consideration the views from existing properties.

Applicant Steve Hesmondhalgh promised residents that the building would be demolished by the summer and urged them to get behind the scheme.

Committee members voted unanimously to approve the application to build 69 homes on the site as well as relocating the children’s play area.