April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Londoners woke up today to an unpleasant smell that the U.K. Met Office said emanated from continental Europe and spread across southern England.

``There was definitely something in the air this morning on the walk into work,'' said Martin Slaney, head of spread betting at GFT Global Markets in London. ``Never mind `wake up and smell the coffee,' this was something far more unpleasant.''

The odor, which residents described as smelling of manure or rotting garbage, can probably be explained by a shift in the winds from the prevailing west to a more easterly origin, Sarah Holland, a spokeswoman for the Met Office, the government forecaster, said in a telephone interview.

``We've had reports from East Anglia to Reading and Devon of a smell in the air,'' Holland said, adding that ``strong'' winds are blowing in from the east. ``We don't know the exact origins of the air, but it could be from agricultural and industrial processes in continental Europe.''

The winds usually come in from the west off the Atlantic Ocean, ``where there is very little, if any, pollution from man- made sources,'' Holland said.

Thames Water, which manages the capital's water supply and sewerage system, said it wasn't responsible for the smell.

``We're confident it's nothing to do with our operations,'' Thames Water spokesman Don Sharples said by phone today. ``There're no blocked sewers et cetera.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net; Sarah Thompson in London at sthompson17@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 18, 2008 07:47 EDT