A CARGO of exotic fish which has been chased from Belgium is causing a stink with Knutsford-based green activists.

It's not the hum from the plane's hold which is irritating them - it's the hum of the engines.

The fishy tale of how an allegedly noisy Boing 707 - laden with 40 tons of Nile Perch - has been landing in Manchester was revealed this week.

It flies a cargo of the freshwater delicacy from Sudan into Manchester every Wednesday evening.

Green campaigner Jeff Gazzard claims it only lands in Manchester because it isn't welcome anywhere else.

He insists the Trans Arabian Airlines jet was banned from Ostend for being too noisy and too old.

"We now will ask the Civil Aviation Authority to do the same," he said.

Manchester Airport confirmed that the plane used to fly to Ostend and Stansted Airports - but only made the switch to Manchester because of its superior health inspection and storage to cope with the cargo.

"The return flight from Manchester to Khartoum in Sudan carries emergency medical supplies," a spokesman said.

It has been fined once since it arrived in Manchester.

But Mr Gazzard said what the plane was carrying on its outward journey was irrelevant.

"We are not being subjected to moral blackmail," he said. "It's a wreck, it's noisy and it should go."

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