THE pong of rotten eggs emanating from across the Channel which saw a deluge of 999 calls to the emergency services earlier this week has been declared harmless.

The unpleasant smell, which has drifted across the channel from a factory in Rouen in northern France and has been whiffed in Petersfield, has drifted in the wind with the snowy weather.

Fire and rescue authorities in Hampshire and West Sussex, and the Health Protection Agency, have reassured the public that the the gas was "non-toxic and presented no threat to the public".

The pungent pong released was a particular smelly chemical called mercaptan. It is an organic compound added to natural gas, lubricants and paints.

Tony Deacon, group manager for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Our control room dealt with a number of calls reporting the unpleasant gas smell.

"We want to reassure the public that the gas presented no threat to health and was completely harmless.

"It is not toxic and has also been diluted before entering the air over England, so people should be reassured it will cause no harm."

A spokesman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue added: "It is an unpleasant odour which may cause some people to feel slightly nauseous but it will dispel naturally."