Disgruntled residents of Dzherman, a village in Western Bulgaria, staged a blockade of the European route E-79 on Monday to protest against the construction of a waste storage facility near their homes.

Demonstrators, which news website Dnevnik.bg measured in the hundreds, called for the resignation of Dupnitsa Mayor Metodi Chimev and his administration. Other sources put the number of protesters at "over a hundred".

The decision to build the depot was taken by the municipal administration (dominated by GERB, the party of outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borisov) in Dupnitsa in December.

Protesters threatened to resort to "civil disobedience" unless their demands were heard.

European route E-79 lins Kosice in Slovakia with Thessaloniki in Greece, passing through Romania and Bulgaria.

The protest action, however, did not affect traffic substantially it took place just before the expected "rush hours" and traffic jams at the and of a three-day holiday.

Focus Radio reports traffic along the E-79 was brought to a halt for just 20 hours.