THE foot-and-mouth burial dump at RAF Throckmorton is to cost the taxpayer a staggering £22.6m, it emerged today.

In a written Parliamentary answer, Farming Minister Ellliot Morley admitted the cost of buying the site at the height of last year's crisis and burying more than 100,000 animals was £15.3m.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has also been forced to set aside a further £3.3m to remove waste and carry out landscaping works.

Another £4m will be spent monitoring the dump for up to 15 years to make sure no harmful waste or chemicals spill out.

Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff, who

has called for compensation to be paid to people living close to the dump, said the figures were alarming.

Risk

"The fact that monitoring is deemed necessary for 10 to 15 years shows the continuing environmental risk posed by the site," he said.

"This is particularly worrying, as it is coupled with concerns that the construction of the site could be inadequate."

Mr Luff said the size of the bill strengthened the case for residents to be paid Government compensation.

He has asked Ministers to buy the homes of anyone who wishes to sell, either because of the burial dump or the proposed 750-bed asylum seeker centre.

"How can they justify not making payments when they would be so small compared with the overall bill?" he said.

DEFRA has flatly refused the request for compensation, arguing that it would face many similar claims for payments if it set a precedent at Throckmorton.

THE foot-and-mouth burial dump at RAF Throckmorton is to cost the taxpayer a staggering £22.6m, it emerged today.

In a written Parliamentary answer, Farming Minister Ellliot Morley admitted the cost of buying the site at the height of last year's crisis and burying more than 100,000 animals was £15.3m.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has also been forced to set aside a further £3.3m to remove waste and carry out landscaping works.

Another £4m will be spent monitoring the dump for up to 15 years to make sure no harmful waste or chemicals spill out.

Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff, who

has called for compensation to be paid to people living close to the dump, said the figures were alarming.

Risk

"The fact that monitoring is deemed necessary for 10 to 15 years shows the continuing environmental risk posed by the site," he said.

"This is particularly worrying, as it is coupled with concerns that the construction of the site could be inadequate."

Mr Luff said the size of the bill strengthened the case for residents to be paid Government compensation.

He has asked Ministers to buy the homes of anyone who wishes to sell, either because of the burial dump or the proposed 750-bed asylum seeker centre.

"How can they justify not making payments when they would be so small compared with the overall bill?" he said.

DEFRA has flatly refused the request for compensation, arguing that it would face many similar claims for payments if it set a precedent at Throckmorton.