Campaigners packed a council meeting yesterday to protest against plans for an incinerator at Newhaven.

They jeered and heckled as they demanded proposals to build a waste burning facility at the coastal port town be put on the agenda at an East Sussex County Council meeting.

Some of the group were told they would be removed if they continued to call out as council members insisted the meeting was about proposed changes to other rubbish tips around the county.

The plans for an incinerator at North Quay, on the edge of Newhaven, have sparked a series of demonstrations by those fearing it would result in traffic congestion, pollution and a drop in house prices.

The demonstrators, from Newhaven, Telscombe, Lewes, Seaford and Saltdean, believe burning rubbish can cause cancers, allergies and breathing problems.

Onyx, the company behind the proposed incinerator, has said domestic bonfires cause more damage to the environment.

The company, which has won a 25 year, £1 billion contract to manage waste in East Sussex, warned there would be virtually no more landfill sites in East Sussex by 2008.

East Sussex and Brighton and Hove's joint waste plan recommended Newhaven as a potential site for an incinerator to serve both areas.

A planning inspector agreed after a public inquiry.

But Lib Dem leader and councillor for Newhaven, David Rogers, said ways to increase recycling should be investigated further and waste from Brighton and Hove should not be burnt at the proposed incinerator.

He said: "The people of Newhaven are appalled to see their council forcing this through against the wishes of those most affected. "Newhaven should not be forced to take rubbish from Brighton and Hove. I still believe the regeneration of Newhaven will be affected."

East Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove drew up the original ten-year waste plan.

The public will be consulted on the latest draft of the plan in February 2005 and the planning application for the Newhaven incinerator is expected to be submitted next spring.