AN environmental campaigner who battled for 18 months to uncover details of a waste contract has received an apology from Worcestershire County Council.

Sarah Blenkinsop of Friends of the Earth claimed Worcestershire County Council had refused to release full details of a contract signed with disposal company FOCSA under cover of "commercial confidentiality".

She first asked for documents about the 25-year contract to process waste from Worcestershire and Herefordshire in January 1999.

"I've now been told I can see the contract, following a deathly silence from the county council," she said.

The chief executive of the council, Rob Sykes, has apologised in a letter to Mrs Blenkinsop.

"You are quite right that we have failed to deal with your request within an acceptable timescale," he told her.

Mr Sykes said staff absence and sickness had hampered the authority's response. His letter assured Mrs Blenkinsop her request would be "expedited as speedily as possible".

Kevin Galloway, the council's public relations manager, admitted "snippets" of financial data were still being held back, to protect the waste disposal company.

"It would be like asking Lea & Perrins to divulge the secret recipe for their sauce," he said.

"If people were able to find out the precise costs of their operations the firm might never get any more contracts and could go out of business.

"But the main elements of the contract are available, as well as the service delivery contract itself."

Mrs Blenkinsop - who is keen to investigate the technical data behind FOCSA's plans to dispose of more than 250,000 tonnes of waste a year - wants the public to put pressure on County Hall to open up the files.

"I'd urge anyone who is concerned to exercise their democratic rights and ask for copies of the contract from the director of environmental services, Richard Wigginton," she said.