'Who could imagine this was going to happen?' - Marco Botti among trainers 'left in the lurch' by Newmarket manure crisis

Marco Botti said he has been "left in the lurch" by the abrupt closure of a manure recycling firm that has resulted in many trainers in Newmarket frantically seeking ways to dispose of their stable bedding.

Last month Alwyn Moss sent out an email to his clients informing them he would cease trading on September 29 after providing services to trainers and other equine sites in the area for the past 40 years. Moss operated five lorries out of West Row near Mildenhall and took away used stable bedding.

The 75-year-old cited a lack of drivers and his own advancing years for the decision to finish, a move that has affected studs and around 20 trainers including Botti, Godolphin, Gay Kelleway, John Ryan and Jon Scargill.

Botti, who is based at Prestige Place Stables on Snailwell Road, said of the move: "We were given very short notice and we've been left in the lurch. We tried to make a few phone calls last week but there's only one other company you can deal with. I wasn't aware there were only two providers and when we rang the other company they said the only one they were taking on were the vets.

Alwyn Moss: ceased trading at the end of last month

"The only possible way will be to switch to straw, which some other companies may take, as they don't want to take shavings mixed with straw as it's harder to dispose of.

"At the moment we have more horses on shavings than straw as some of the colts try to eat straw but we'll have to switch – we've no other choice."

He added: "Who could imagine this was going to happen in such a short space of time? We've heard before that he was giving up but it never happened."

Jockey Club Estates is considering providing short-term storage space for the waste on some of their properties, including the National Stud.

Nick Patton, managing director of Jockey Club Estates, said: "It's not strictly a Jockey Club issue but we're exploring ways we can help out with storage while things settle down."

In 2011 the Jockey Club was involved in a project to build a recycling facility that would have taken 5,000 tonnes of the annual 25,000 tonnes of waste generated by yards in Newmarket, but this was dropped on environmental grounds.

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