SHEEP, cattle and other livestock slaughtered for welfare reasons are to be buried at a landfill site in Worcestershire.

The landfill site at Waresley, near Hartlebury, is one of a number of sites across Britain earmarked to receive the carcases while the foot-and-mouth epidemic continues to rage.

The tip is licensed to take animal waste, including leftover meat, and can be used under current circumstances.

The disposal of carcasses will be overseen by the MAFF Intervention Board, which is dealing with the Welfare of Livestock (Disposal) Scheme.

The Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions have been working with the Environment Agency to find suitable sites for the disposal of carcases.

The site at Waresley is the only one in Worcestershire to be used for carcases.

The landfill site at Hill and Moor, adjacent to the mass burial pit at Throckmorton airfield, near Pershore, will not be used.