A decision to give a businessman permission to build an animal crematorium in Warwickshire has been met with dismay by people living nearby.

Rowland Parke plans to cremate pets in a farm building at Withybrook near Rugby, and to dispose of their ashes in nearby woodland.

County councillors granted Mr Parke's application on Tuesday.

He says the crematorium offers a low cost alternative to the option of pets being disposed of by a vet and poses no health risk.

'Totally inappropriate'

But the clerk of Withybrook parish council, Tim Moore, believes there is no need for the project.

"We're talking about an industrial cremator which is an industrial development in a very rural area", he said.

"So we thought that it was totally inappropriate for our part of Warwickshire.

"We're very concerned about the emissions from it and we already believe that there are sufficient crematoriums in the area.

"There are already three in Warwickshire alone."