Politicians and protestors have welcomed the government's announcement that plans to build a holding centre for asylum seekers in a Worcestershire village have been dropped.

In the Commons on Tuesday, Home Office minister Beverley Hughes said the proposed site at a disused air base in Throckmorton was no longer viable.

Local councillors and the area's MP claimed it as a victory for the village which last year was used as a burial site for the remains of cattle killed in the foot-and-mouth crisis.

However, protestors say they will now back the fight to prevent two similar asylum centres being sited in rural parts of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire.

Our campaign is not about us not wanting asylum seekers in our part of the world, but that rural areas are the wrong places to house them

Steve Mitchell, protestors' spokesman

In her Commons statement, Ms Hughes said the Throckmorton site had been dropped because the government could not acquire the land quickly enough to meet its own timescale.

The Conservative MP for Mid-Worcester, Peter Luff, said: "There's going to be a huge sense of relief in Throckmorton and all the villages around it.

"This should never have been imposed on them in the first place.

"It was the wrong policy in the wrong place. The government has backed down and I'm glad of that."

'Best news'

Gary Robinson, chairman of Wyre Piddle parish council, said he was "absolutely delighted".

He said: "It's the best news we could have expected.

"We have fought a long and hard campaign to show the government they were absolutely wrong to think of putting asylum seekers out in a rural area like Throckmorton."

Local campaigners have been more guarded in their reaction.

Steve Mitchell, spokesman for Pact (Protest at the Asylum Centre in Throckmorton) says the government should now abandon all plans to site asylum seekers in the countryside.

He told BBC News Online: "We're extremely pleased from Throckmorton's point of view, but it's not unbridled joy.

'Support' offered

"A large part of our campaign is not about us not wanting asylum seekers in our part of the world, but that rural areas are the wrong places to house them.

"The government should listen to voices like the Refugee Council who say urban areas are better places to build these centres.

"This is great news for us but the fact that two other rural sites are still likely to be used is bad news for asylum seekers.

"We will lend our support to other campaigns."

Ms Hughes told the Commons the government would continue to "pursue vigorously" plans for large scale holding centres in Bicester and Newton.