VILLAGERS today vowed to step up their fight against plans to recycle nearly half of Dorset's rubbish on their doorstep.

People living in Crossways near Dorchester are up in arms over a county council scheme to expand a small recycling plant on the Hybris industrial estate.

Community leaders claim the authority ignored their complaints when they granted permission for the tip recently and now say they will go to the top to overturn the scheme.

Residents in the villages are being leafleted to give their views on the plan which will see a four-fold increase in the amount of rubbish recycled at Crossways.

Local parish councillors claim they were unable to voice their objections when the county council met to discuss the issue.

They add that increased noise and traffic problems from the plant will be "disastrous" for their community, which is set to grow by 750 homes in the coming years.

Coun John Chubb, planning chairman of Crossways Parish Council, said members were considering taking their battle to the Local Government Ombudsman to prevent the expansion happening.

He said: "This is a case of Crossways being dumped on yet again. We have already got an adequate recycling centre pretty much in the centre of the village. We accept the expansion has been given the go ahead, but we're determined to fight it all the way. Hopefully common sense will prevail."

Coun Chubb said Crossways' current plant took 5,000 tonnes of rubbish a year but the expansion will see this increase to 20,000 tonnes.

"The roads in the village are busy at the best of times and yet now 47 per cent of Dorset's waste will come here. We hope that by highlighting the issue, the people of Crossways will rally behind us."

Andrew Brewer, who also serves on the parish council, said he was annoyed because no other sites around Dorset had been considered by the county council.

"The figures for the expansion just can't be supported by a village the size of Crossways. We already have a landfill site as well and we have had enough."

Adrian Poller, Dorset County Council's head of waste services, said Crossways would be the ideal location for the site to cope with a major expansion in kerbside recycling around the county.

He said: "Decisions like this are never popular but as Crossways already has a recycling centre, we felt it would be the ideal location. Our traffic study indicated to us the local roads would be able to comfortably cope with the lorries that will be used and we hope to have it ready for use by the end of January."