MORE than 40 people took to the streets of a Cleveland hamlet yesterday to protest against plans for an animal incinerator.

But not all of the villagers of Charltons, near Guisborough, are against the scheme, which would replace a much smaller furnace.

The villagers' protest coincided with a site inspection by North York Moors National Park Authority planning committee.

Ted and Jean Noddings, who run the horse and cattle slaughterers JE Noddings and Son, say they must build a much bigger incinerator because of new regulations following the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

The new oil-fired burner would be 4.3m long, 2m wide, 3.5m high and with a total height of 12m, and would be able to burn 25 cow carcasses a day.

A total of 188 people have signed a petition against the plan including members of more than half the 95 households in the hamlet. Local MP Dr Ashok Kumar has also attacked the scheme.

But spokesman for the Charlton Anti-Incinerator Group, Len Peacock, admitted some people in the village were not bothered about the plans.

He said: "We believe the smell and the noise from this place will add up to a big problems.

"Of course nobody knows how bad it will be until the thing goes up and then it would be too late.

"Some of the older people in Charltons don't have a problem with it and are supporting the Noddings, but many people, including those with young families, are worried about health, smell and noise."

No-one at JE Noddings and Son, which has been operating in the area since the 1920s, was available for comment yesterday.

The National Park Authority recently deferred making a decision but will discuss the issue again next Thursday at public offices in Helmsley.