A model of a controversial waste incinerator plan was shown to scores of people in a bid to convince them the scheme should go ahead.

But the director of the incinerator project, John Collis, faced some tough questions from many of the residents who turned up at the exhibition.

Mr Collis is employed by waste contractor Onyx, which has applied to East Sussex County Council to build the burner on the North Quay at Newhaven.

The burner, which is being called an energy recovery facility, is designed to handle approximately 210,000 tonnes of household waste a year and will replace the current landfill method of disposal of nonrecyclable waste.

It is planned the facility will export around 16.5 megawatts of electricity into the distribution network which would supply 16,500 homes with power.

The exhibition was held yesterday at the Hillcrest Community Centre in Hillcrest Road, Newhaven, and will also be held tomorrow.

A scale model and computer-generated images of the facilitys design were on display to dozens of people who were filtering through the hall where there were copies of the planning application and information display boards on show.

Mr Collis was also on hand to answer questions.

One of the main questions from visitors was why Onyx held the exhibition one day before the deadline for objections to the planning application were due and the second exhibition a day after the closing date.

Mr Collis said: "The exhibition is not at all tied up with the planning process. We thought it would be helpful to the local residents, it is not linked to the planning process."

Mr Collis faced many indepth questions from dozens of people from along the coastal strip about the health concerns, traffic and pollution.

He said: "We are encouraging people to visit an existing facility. We are offering to take them to Basingstoke to see a similar facility."

Many of the visitors to the exhibition appeared to have already digested the material provided by Onyx and turned up to raise questions and object to the plant.

However, engineer Barry Gilbert, 68, of Gibbon Road, Newhaven, appeared to be in a minority of visitors to the show who supports the scheme.

He said people should visit Portsmouth where the refuse was dumped into holes in the ground and added to over the years and eventually compacted into huge hills which are now a blot on its landscape.

He said: "When I see what happened in Portsmouth and how they dealt with their rubbish, we dont want that here.

"You have to have an alternative to land-fill and this incinerator will save on fossil fuels, which are running out.

I think its a good idea.

"Gas, oil and fossil fuels are running out and this facility will generate electricity."

The exhibition will run tomorrow from 10.30am until 1.30 pm at the same venue.