VILLAGERS in Tilesford Park, Throckmorton are living in dread now hundreds of lorries stuffed with dead animal carcasses are trundling past their homes.

They say they are concerned about what's coming next following a decade which has seen the huge expansion of the landfill site at Hill and Moor, the establishment of an intensive chicken farm, an HGV depot, and now a mass burial ground for culled animals being shipped in from all over Worcestershire and surrounding counties.

Debbie Rough, who lives in Tilesford Park, next to the airfield, said: "I dread what's coming next.

"There was no consultation whatsoever before MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) announced the burial ground, we fought tooth and nail against the intensive chicken farm, and the huge lorries, whatever are we going to be made to put up with next?"

Mrs Rough has decided to drive her children to school since the lorries filled with dead animals started rolling past the bus stop.

She said: "The stop is right near the entrance to the airfield, the children have no pavement to stand on, and the huge lorries with matted sheep's wool sticking out of the sides stream past - it's disgusting."

Parish councillor Sheila Marchant who represents Throckmorton, said: "It is no longer safe to walk along the road through the village towards Pinvin - it has no pavements and is totally unsuitable for heavy traffic.

"Our village has become the dumping ground for anything and we all feel powerless to stop it."

The medieval village of Throckmorton was a tiny thriving community of about 100 countryfolk before the Second World War, with thatched cottages, a small school and a shop.

At the turn of the last century a village schoolgirl was noted as describing it as: "very small and not thickly populated - we know everyone as if they were flowers in our garden."

Now the fragmented village, which has about 180 residents, is divided by an old airstrip and has no shop or school or regular bus service.

Throckmorton was first singled out by the MOD during the Second World War. The Ministry took over about 165 acres of farming land and flattened about a dozen cottages to make way for an airstrip.

Until about 25 years ago small planes were still landing on the runway which was also used by the population to get from one side of the village to the other. Adjoining the MOD land is the Hill and Moor landfill site, which has grown from a simple tip 15 years ago, to a highly efficient waste disposal operation.

Huge HGVs stream up and down the Lower Moor to Throckmorton 'C'class road to the tip, more go to a transport depot on the airfield and convoys containing culled animals are now joining them along the same road with its broken down verges and pot holes. Bishampton and Throckmorton Parish Council fought hard to stop the establishment of a HGV depot back in 1989.

Villagers raised £11,000 of their own cash for a judicial review to fund the battle against planning permission but their efforts were in vain and plans were eventually passed in May 1990.

In October 1991 came a planning application for an intensive chicken farm and this time the battle against the birds went to the European Courts which came out on the side of the villagers.

However, High Court action, funded by Wychavon District Council to the tune of £100,000, was lost.

Now villagers are poised to fight again.

Former chairman of the parish council when the last battle was fought, Jenny Davies, said: "We are keeping very vigilant to make sure that promises made to us that there will no burning on the airfield are kept - we have just about had enough."