The city of Naples is choking with piles of garbage, and the situation has come to a crisis point.

Protestors clashed with police in a town near Naples while trying to stop a government plan to open a huge garbage dump on the edge of their town. Residents say that foul smells and illnesses they link to living near 2000 pounds of grabage have prompted them to take action.

Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi held an emergency cabinet meeting over the issue and promised to tackle it.