Residents' lives are being ruined by a "horror film" invasion of blood-sucking flies which have been swarming homes - in the middle of winter."

Homeowners living in the quaint village of Firsby, Lincs.,

are too scared to open their windows or venture outdoors due to the swarms outside their properties.

Fed-up locals say the clouds of buzzing flies have been making life "hell" and attacking their pets - leaving one dog requiring an ear amputation. "

Mum-of-one Zena Thomas, 60, has lived in her home more than 30 years and said the issues first started when a calf-rearing business opened up opposite a few years ago.

They soon began getting fly problems but the issue became so severe this year that her home has been plagued by the swarms from April and all the way through the winter months.

She says life has become a "nightmare" as she is now trapped in her home, which is unsellable as a result of the flies, and visitors now stay away. "

Zena believes the stable flies, which feed on the blood of mammals and live in rotting manure, are coming from the cattle business 25ft away - but claims nobody is willing to help.

The flies are also causing damage to the window frames and paintwork on her property and shocking footage shows they often cover her car.

Zena said: "This is my home, not only can we not use it, but it makes life a nightmare. "

"When you mention it to people they think it's a few flies. "

"But there's thousands of them, you can't get in your car or leave your windows open."

"People won't come here to visit us either. I bought a barbecue but I've never used it. When people come here they don't want to sit outside. "

"My car window is covered in fly poo, too. You can't easily wash it. Everything is covered in this. "

"You can't see out of the windows either, it's that bad. It's virtually impossible to remove."

Zena also revealed how vets had suggested she amputate one of her dogs ear due to the severity of the fly bites it had suffered.

She added: "They bit my 16-year-old dog Cat's ear and she needed treatment. "

"They say they may need to amputate the tip of her ear."

"I have five other dogs and they would go out in the garden and come back covered with flies on them. "

"I've got Siberian huskies so they've got thick coats, but they still bite their noses and ears."

The part-time receptionist says she would leave the street if she could, but reckons 'no one will buy the property' because of the swarm.

Zena added: "The stable flies live in manure, hay, straw. They have to have a blood feed before they lay their eggs. "

"The smell is ridiculous too, you get out of your car and you're gagging. "

"We've got flies and now we've got rats across the road. I live in a field ,I appreciate that, but he's made them a hotel."

"They leave pheromones on the car so it attracts other flies. Now the flies are attracting other flies, so it gets even worse. "

"You have to wash your car at least twice a week or you can't see it out the window. "

"You can't hang washing in your garden either because they coat it in their faeces. "

"My gardener wouldn't cut the hedge, he couldn't get out there to do it because there were too many flies."

"I don't want to live here anymore, but I can't sell it. "

"The council are not going to do anything and the Environment Agency aren't either"

so we're stuck."

Other villagers said the problem was now "out of control" and the swarms made it impossible to use their gardens."

One local, who wished to remain anonymous, added: "It's like a horror film at times up there. There's just clouds of them and if you drive your car up, it is absolutely caked in flies within seconds. "

"I get enough of them around my home and garden but there's three houses near the cattle farm which are completely swarmed by them. "

"It's bad enough here but I know it has been hell for them. "

"We thought it would stop in the winter months but it didn't."

Another resident Sean Roachford, 55, said the swarms of flies mean his grandchildren can't play in the garden.

The grandad-of-five said: "To be honest it's got worse every year. He's growing and getting more and more calves, it's getting more intense. "

"The noise is one of the biggest issues too and we suffer with the flies. It's impossible for eight months of the year to do things normally."

"It's constant, you get a warm spot and the flies get attracted to that."

You can't sit outside in the summer, as soon as you set up the barbecue they come out.

"My wife works from home, even during the day she has to keep the windows shut because of the flies."

"My grandchildren can't even really come over. The flies do bite, so they have to be careful. We've all been bitten, so you try and limit how often they're outside."

The Environment Agency said the case was "outside of their remit" and would be a matter for the local authority."

East Lindsey District Council has been approached for comment.