Almost £2 million of taxpayers' money has been spent on legal fees for a controversial incinerator.

East Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council have spent the money on legal costs over plans to build an incinerator at Newhaven.

The figure was revealed by Lewes MP Norman Baker, who requested information on the costs from the councils for each year since 1999.

The county council said the total cost of the legal advice from its solicitors had been £1,902,876.02.

Two thirds was met by the county council with Brighton and Hove paying the remainder.

But the total cost of the legal fees is set to rise now that a legal challenge to the plans has been successful.

Newhaven resident Nicola Day challenged the Environment Agency over its grant of a pollution prevention control permit to waste firm Veolia, saying officers did not give proper consideration to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

A new consultation will now have to be undertaken by the agency in the new year, costing the tax payer thousands more pounds.

Mr Baker, who revealed in September that the cost of the incinerator had already more than doubled from £71.7 million to £145.7 million since it was first approved, said: "I find it ridiculous that East Sussex and Brighton and Hove councils have been able to spend nearly two million pounds worth of taxpayers' money on legal advice for an incinerator nobody wants.

"The costs of the proposed incinerator in Newhaven has already been shown to be spiralling out of control, and today's news does not help the situation.

"It was my understanding that the incinerator was supposed to burn waste. To me it looks like the only thing it is good at burning is taxpayers' money."

The figures show that in 1999 to 2000, the councils spent £114,988.21 on legal fees.

The next year's cost was £121,531.47, then £331,072.93 for 2001 to 2002, £448,010.90 for 2002 to 2003.

In 2003 to 2004, it rocketed to a whopping £610,163.52, followed by £57,550.06 in 2004 to 2005, £46,571.15 for 2005 to 2006, £71,614.04 for 2006 to 2007 and finally £101,373.74 for this year so far.

Plans for the incinerator were approved by the county council earlier this year and it is expected to be operational by 2010.

It will process 210,000 tonnes of refuse annually.

A spokesman for East Sussex County Council said: "These legal fees actually represent good value for money. Most were incurred in the negotiating of a £1 billion waste disposal contract and they represent a tiny fraction of this investment.

"To set these costs in context, someone buying a house could expect to pay a far greater proportion of their total investment to lawyers.

"It is also important to note that because it is a PFI contract, nearly £50 million of the contract costs will be met by central Government funding, costing local council taxpayers nothing."

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said he had seen the county council's statement and had nothing to add.