Campaigners against plans to build a chimney as part of an animal carcass incineration plant at Hopwood were this week set to face a public inquiry without the support of Worcestershire County Council.

Protest group members have slammed the county council for pulling out of opposition against the plans.

The three-day inquiry into the proposals started yesterday.

Jeremy Roberts, spokesman for Hopwood Against Rendering Movement (HARM), said: "The county council agreed with us after we had spent our money and said they would oppose the plans and fight it."

But he said legal representatives of the parties involved had agreed not to oppose the plans as certain parts of the application had been changed.

"This now means we had three working days to find our own legal representation - I have to do it," Mr Roberts added.

A county council spokesman said Bromsgrove District Council had advised that the chimney would be no more than 17m high and there would be no environmental issues, so the county had decided to withdraw its objection.