Fed-up businesspeople in Porthleven are appealing for action to be taken following further disruption caused by work on a sewage pumping station in the centre of the port.

Bob Hood, who owns a gallery in Commercial Road, contacted local MP Andrew George on Friday after workmen brought in a huge crane and two suction lorries to try to rectify the problem.

Mr Hood said it was the third time in a week that the workmen had been on site and it was time something was done to address the situation.

He said: "The smell is horrendous. We have to keep the door shut and with the fine weather we have had it has been even worse. Traffic can still get through but it is very tight. And they are taking up a lot of parking."

Mr Hood said the pump installed by South West Water when they put in Porthleven's new sewage system some years back was "not man enough for the job" - forcing workmen to make regular visits to clear out the system.

He claimed the company had promised to rectify the problem two years ago, but nothing had happened.

Ellie Pitt, landlady of the nearby Harbour Inn, said the work had been "a bit of a nuisance".

She said: "The noise from the lorries is pretty bad, and then the smell hits you. People are not going to come in to a restaurant with a smell like that.

"They never seem to come out of season, or very early in the morning. It always seems to be lunchtime when we are just getting busy."

Mrs Pitt said the pub had been warned it would need to close its harbour-side patio off while additional work was carried out, although that work was only expected to take a day to complete.

Tessa Nash, spokeswoman for South West Water, said the recent work was due to an isolated problem and was not an on-going issue.

She said: "A build up of silt and debris meant we had to carry out extensive cleaning and maintenance to return the pumps to operational use. Further modifications will be made to the pumping station to reduce the risk of any further problems. These should take around a day to complete.

"We have worked hard to keep any disruption to a minimum, but apologise for any inconvenience this essential work may have caused."