A LEADING campaigner who helped get the notorious Kidderminster incinerator bid kicked out has warned the district could be "picked on" with a new waste plan.

Two years after a controversial bid for Stourport Road was thrown out, Nigel Knowles said residents should remain vigilant in the face of a proposed "waste strategy" by Worcestershire County Council.

A consultation document just published by the county council states there are no plans for a "mass burn incineration" but the Bewdley town councillor has voiced his fears.

He told Monday's meeting of the town council: "If they think they have lost to us once and can come back and have another go then we can stop them before the bell has rung.

"If we are silent they will surely have another go. When you get round the table at the county council you will see which district they will pick on."

Mr Knowles - who got the 2001 county meeting where the plan was first thrown out moved to Kidderminster - said: "I expect a recommendation to reintroduce the idea of an incinerator back into Worcestershire, particularly in Wyre Forest. It is not in the document but that doesn't mean a thing."

Mr Knowles said the idea needed to be "kicked into touch" by the strength of public opinion, which resulted in an 18,500-name petition handed in at County Hall opposing the incinerator, intended for the former British Sugar site.

However, the county council remains adamant the incinerator issue has gone and will never return.

Council leader Dr George Lord said: "As I said at the time of the inquiry decision, because of the perception of health fears, the issue of incineration is a dead duck not just in Worcestershire, but probably in the country as well. Incineration was removed from the plans and that remains the case."

The plan was finally thrown out after a 2002 appeal by Severn Waste Services. The town council agreed to write to the county council opposing any talk of an incinerator.

The strategy document will be agreed on by members of the Joint Members Waste Forum this summer after the consultation, which closes on May 7. The document can be viewed at the website www.worcester-shire.government.uk/wastestrategy.