The Crown Estate and Moray Council have agreed to work together and have pledged to clear seaweed from the harbour as quickly as possible.

And while the householders welcome the new-found sense of co-operation between the two sides, they will not celebrate until diggers move on site.

The council and the Crown Estate have until now been in disagreement over who has the responsibility of keeping the harbour clean of debris.

In the meantime, residents of Gordon Square and West High Street have had to contend with hundreds of flies crawling over their homes and food.

Although it has been a problem for years, the situation has become dire in recent months because of the huge volume of seaweed left rotting in the harbour.

Jenny Coffield, whose home is just yards from the harbour, said all of her neighbours would be delighted by the news that it was to be cleared.

"But I think we'll be happier when we actually see the work being carried out. Both of them have claimed that it's nothing to do with them," she said.

"It will be interesting to see whether this will be a one-off or whether they clean it out regularly. I can guarantee they could clean it out and within a matter of days it would be full again.

"It's no use if they think they can do this once a year. We've got to keep the pressure on to make sure they do it regularly and that it doesn't get to this stage again."

Residents are having to clean up mounds of dead flies every day and even a hard frost over the seaweed at the start of the week gave them little respite.

Environmental health officers, who claimed there was no risk to public health, said they were not able to deal with the infestation as a statutory nuisance.

The Crown Estate did not take any action, despite repeated pleas from residents, on the grounds it was unsure who had ultimate responsibility to deal with the problem.

Alan Laidlaw, head of customer management for rural estate at the Crown Estate, said: "The Crown Estate sought a meeting with the council in an effort to deal with the reported problem quickly. That meeting took place at the harbour yesterday (Thursday) and appeared to be positive and constructive.

"We are keen to work with the council to try to clear the seaweed and rubbish quickly. Although we understand the Crown Estate has no legal obligation, we are very keen to do what we can to address the residents' concerns.

"We also hope to come to an agreement with the council about what action can be taken to prevent a similar problem arising again."

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