Plans for live firing of a missile which could be deployed in conflict with Iraq may be a danger to homes near a west Wales base.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is warning that test firing of the missile at Pendine in Carmarthenshire could be a risk for houses and farms outside its boundaries.

The missile is fired at a target on the base

The MoD will not confirm which weapon it wants to use but last year it fired the "bunker-busting" Lancer multi-warhead system for the first time.

The base - one of the biggest employers in the area - has a mile-long firing range which has previously been used to evaluate Cruise missiles.

Residents are being asked if they would be prepared to leave their homes for 4-5 hours at a time, and possibly up to 30 hours in some cases.

Carmarthenshire council leader Meryl Gravell has urged the MoD against using the site for the tests.

"I implore them to do it in the safety of the countryside and not near any homes," he said.

"Surely there must be somewhere better to test this equipment," he added.

Shrapnel

The request comes because military chiefs want to test the performance of a missile whose power goes beyond the safety limits of the firing range.

A live missile - armed with a warhead - would be fired along the test track.

The worry is that, should something go wrong, it could blast shrapnel outside the base's perimeter, on to surrounding farm land.

Neil Morrissey's hotel is near the base

Around 15 home owners are being asked if they would be prepared to move out temporarily.

Among the businesses affected by the request is a hotel part-owned by actor Neil Morrissey.

An MoD spokeswoman said: "We would like to test a weapon whose "footprint" extends beyond the rest of the range.

"We are conducting a low-level survey to find out people's feelings if they had to leave their land for perhaps 4-5 hours.

"Nobody is going to be compelled to leave their homes.

"We respect the fact that it's a rural community and that people's livelihoods mean that they may not be able to leave."

She added that the tests would not go ahead if local opinion was against the tests.

Sandra Flaxman lives in a cottage about three-quarters of a mile from the test track.

The base is a large employer in the area

She said: "Because of what it is, it could explode.

"If it does, there could a lot of shrapnel and God knows what and any of this could be of the strength that it could come through the roof and the windows."

She said an MoD representative had told her that any shrapnel would only be small pieces of metal.

"Why go to all this performance if it's only going to be little bits of metal flying around?"