THE proposed asylum centre at Throckmorton should not be built in such a rural setting claims a leading member of the Liberal Democrats.

The party's Home Affairs spokesman, Simon Hughes, made the point on the day Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes visited the site.

Mr Hughes said that the Government is facing the prospect of defeat over accommodation centres.

"These centres will not work unless they are small and situated in the appropriate area," said Mr Hughes.

"They should be limited to a maximum of 250 people and located in places where appropriate services exist, not on the outskirts of small rural villages."

Beverley Hughes met with top brass from Wychavon Council to discuss the proposed asylum centre at Throckmorton yesterday.

The Home Office minister went on a private visit to the RAF site before meeting with councillors and officers at the Civic Centre in Pershore.

Council leader, Councillor Malcolm Meikle, executive board member for planning policy, Coun Audrey Steel, and Throckmorton councillor, Malcolm Argyle, were joined by the leader of Worcestershire County Council, Dr George Lord, for what was described as an "informal meeting".

Also in attendance were the district council's managing director, Sid Pritchard, and head of planning, Jack Hegarty.

Coun Meikle said the purpose of the meeting was to emphasise the particular planning issues relating to Throckmorton, and the differences between this site and the ones proposed in Nottinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

But Coun Argyle, who is chairman of the Protest at the Asylum Centre at Throckmorton (PACT) who have been fighting to stop the 750-bed centre being built, took the opportunity to express the concerns of local residents to the minister.

"I managed to divert away from the planning and point out the moral issue surrounding the fact that the local people had to suffer the foot-and-mouth crisis before being slapped in the face by her department," said Coun Argyle.

The Home Office is expected to submit its planning application for the centre to Wychavon District Council later this year.