THE town has been buzzing this week over whether mosquitoes or horseflies are at the centre of an annoying problem affecting residents across Warrington. 

Earlier this week Facebook and Twitter was filled with pictures of nasty-looking red bites while readers argued whether it was the result of a nip from a horsefly or mosquito.

The Warrington Guardian asked the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine if one of their experts could shed any light on the itchy issue. 

Dr David Weetman from the school said: "Horseflies bite properly (i.e. take a bit of skin off) rather than pierce but a scratched mosquito bite could look the same.

"If they bleed spontaneously they’ll be horseflies but if they don’t this unfortunately doesn’t mean they’re mosquito bites.

"In terms of the time of year both become more common when it’s warm which it is now.

"It's difficult to be definitive – except whenever I’ve been bitten by horseflies I’ve seen them – they’re so huge I doubt lots of people would get bitten without noticing them.

"Either way the bite risk is primarily from secondary bacterial infection, so any wounds need to be kept clean, unless there’s a serious allergic response when medical help is required."