The government is likely to try to press ahead with plans for a controversial asylum centre in Worcestershire - despite a vote in the House of Lords against the proposals.

People living in Throckmorton have been campaigning against plans to build accommodation for refugees on the site of a foot and mouth burial ground on the former RAF base in the village.

The Government plans to build new centres - each housing up to 750 people - at Throckmorton, near Pershore in Worcestershire, RAF Newton, in Nottinghamshire, and at Bicester, Oxfordshire.

But the scheme suffered a severe blow when the House of Lords voted against the move on Wednesday.

The House of Lords voted against the move

Home Secretary David Blunkett is expected to try to find a way to press ahead with the controversial plan however because the agreement with the French government on closing the Sangatte camp near Calais is partly dependent on the centres being built.

More than 2,000 people held a protest in Worcestershire in August against plans for the centre on the former airbase.

Residents claim the airfield site is unsuitable for the facility because it is next to the largest landfill site in Worcestershire and a foot-and-mouth burial pit containing 130,000 carcasses.

Increase tensions

Immigration minister Beverly Hughes has said there was misunderstanding among local people about the impact of the refugees.

She said the majority of asylum seekers would still be dispersed in urban areas.

But in these cases where accommodation centres are used, key services will be provided on site, she added.

The Commission for Racial Equality and the British Red Cross have attacked the concept of centres because they claim they hinder integration and increase tensions.