STELLA McCartney, one of Worcester's highest profile residents, has confirmed her status as an ecological champion.

The Gucci fashion designer has gained permission to process raw sewage at her £1.3m rural mansion in Bishampton, near Pershore.

And although builders have been renovating her country pile since she bought it last year, few expected her environmentally-friendly lifestyle to reach such heights.

"It all seems a little odd to me," said Jane Evans, landlady of The Dolphin pub in Bishampton.

"She isn't too close - about a mile-and-a-half from the village - and the closest thing to her is a golf course, so hopefully it won't affect us."

But planning officers who approved the application were satisfied the scheme is not anti-social.

Reed beds

"It shouldn't smell much at all but even if it did her closest neighbours are a long way away," said Mike Hurst, area planning officer for Wychavon District Council.

"It is just a green way of dealing with household sewage, but we certainly don't get many applications for such things from home-owners."

Waste will pass through a septic tank and into a series of reed beds - a sewage treatment system thought to date back thousands of years.

The designer, who is daughter of ex-Beatle Paul, and his late wife Linda McCartney - had previously found herself in trouble after erecting an outdoor shower on top of her Notting Hill home.

The Vale Golf and Country Club, whose land is bordered by the property, were unable to comment on the plans.