Effluent from a farm in Smith’s has sparked a complaint from a resident who claimed an outflow of dirt and manure presented a hazard to Railway Trail walkers.

The resident said that run-off from Green Land farm, which had been a problem in previous years, had “started to rear its ugly head again” along the popular trail.

But Paul Almeida, the proprietor of the dairy farm, said a fix was in the works after weeks of heavy rain had swept soil and cow waste off the farm.

The resident, who asked not to be named, highlighted the stretch of Railway Trail east of Store Hill, where she claimed the manure presented a public health hazard.

“This trail is used by the Walking Club of Bermuda, the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme, schoolchildren and nursery schoolchildren. It gets a lot of walkers and runners.

“This has been a problem for years, but it’s become worse. I’ve never seen it to the extent here.”

She said she was a daily walker and contacted Michael Dunkley, the area MP, when the situation was bad.

“He gets in touch with the farmer and they send people down to move it but all they are doing is moving it out of the middle of the trail and to the side. It needs proper remediation.”

The farm, which is a major dairy producer, ran afoul of its neighbours for a string of problems in recent years — ranging from foul odours to flies.

Paul Almeida, who bought the farm in 2019, said in 2020 that he would remedy the issue by moving up to 40 of his 130 cows to Spittal Pond.

When contacted last week, Mr Almeida said he had received complaints from members of the public saying they were unable to use the Railway Trail.

He said weeks of heavy rain had caused the problem.

“All the manure goes into the pit but this is from the pasture because of all the rain,” he said.

Mr Almeida said he had been sending digging equipment down to the trail to clear it after record-setting rain in May washed out berms along the edge of the farm.

“I’m fixing it up now and putting up a bigger berm, so hopefully, fingers crossed, it won’t happen any more.

“I can’t beat Mother Nature.”