VILLAGERS at the foot-and-mouth burial pit site at Throckmorton have been reassured that water supplies won't be contaminated following a scare at another site in the county.

Buried trucks containing animal carcases are being dug up on a farm at happy Bank Farm, Stoke Prior, near Bromsgrove, after fears the oil could contaminate the water supply.

Five machines are being excavated after a study on their environmental impact.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said there is no threat of the vehicles spreading the disease once they are unearthed and scrapped.

Around 130,000 carcases were buried at Throckmorton Airfield in April 2001.

There were fears that water might be contaminated by the huge amount of decaying carcases.

Malcolm Argyle, chairman of the Bishampton and Throckmorton Parish Council, said Defra had reassured the villagers that they were not at risk.

"The leakage from the pits has reduced considerably," said the Wychavon District councillor.

"We've been reassured by Defra to the point where monitoring equipment is so sensitive it picked up a newt that had fallen into one of the cells and was starting to decay.

"If they can pick up a decaying newt, albeit slightly, they're going to pick up anything that's disastrous. That's reassured me.

"Everybody's going to be anxious because it's on our doorstep but Defra is showing us it is doing everything it possibly can."

He said the community was also being reassured by an independent environmental study on the area.

"Everything I feel is being done to reassure the community," said Coun Argyle.

"There's also no clear evidence of contamination from the landfill site either.

"The burial site is also monitored by the environmental health people on a very regular basis.

"People who are ignorant to the facts ought to be told all this."