The stench of sewage could turn Twickenham into the "laughing stock of the world" when it hosts the Rugby World Cup, it was claimed this week.
Brentford & Isleworth MP Ruth Cadbury earlier this summer warned Mogden Sewage Treatment Works might cast a foul-smelling cloud over the tournament, which opens at Twickenham Stadium on September 18.
Her fears appeared to be realised when the stadium hosted England's first warm up game on Saturday (August 15), with one resident complaining of an "atrocious stench" in Twickenham town centre, the other side of the venue from the sewage works in Isleworth, during the match.
While things were rosy on the pitch, with England racking up three tries in a 19-14 victory over France, they were not so sweet smelling off it, according to Mogden Residents' Action Group (MRAG).
"If this is what we can expect throughout the summer and the World Cup it is disgraceful," said a spokesman for the group, which represents households blighted by the smell from the plant.
"Twickenham will be the laughing stock of the world due to Thames Water's failure to address the problems which have blighted the lives of local residents for decades but recently reached all time highs as far as odour trigger levels are concerned."
MRAG, which won a major payout from operator Thames Water in 2011 over the odour nuisance, says the smell is worse than ever following a major upgrade of the site completed in 2013.
It also claims odour sensors around the site are often out of order, meaning the situation is not being properly monitored.
A spokesman for Thames Water said: "We're confident rugby fans will not be turned off Twickenham by odour from our works.
"We finished a £140m upgrade in 2013, installing odour-reducing equipment and covers, and have recently refurbished the odour control units.
"We'll continue to work closely with Twickenham Stadium and Hounslow and Richmond councils in the run-up to the big event."
Stephen Brown, managing director of the tournament organiser England Rugby 2015, recently said he had no concerns about odours from the sewage works marring the event.
"People are used to coming to Twickenham - we get 82 000 people coming here on a regular basis and it doesn't have that effect ordinarily. So we are pretty relaxed about that. It's not a major problem for us," he was quoted as saying in June.
