A COUNCIL has given permission for an incinerator to burn large animal carcasses.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council granted Ted Noddings a licence on Wednesday to burn farm animals at Charltons.

North Yorkshire Moors National Parks Authority granted planning permission for the incinerator in February. But it conceded the decision was defective in law and an application by protestors for a High Court injunction to stop the construction was withdrawn in June. A second application this month was granted planning permission.

Mr Noddings said this week: "I don't feel any sense of victory. We have never done anything wrong. We've been persecuted and even had our vehicles damaged."

He said he would go out of business without the incinerator and had no health concerns. He will live on the site with his wife.

The council's principal environmental officer, Bob Cowell, said: "Controls ensure the emissions are within standards set down by the Government. We will keep monitoring what's going on."

Protestor John Tombs said: "Our legal team is ready to take the matter up. I'm very confident that it will get to court - again."