A COMPANY that supplied salad for the Queen's 80th birthday party has been criticised by local residents for being too big and attracting too much traffic.

Kanes Foods, based in Middle Littleton, near Evesham, appeared in the Worcester News earlier this month after being selected by Sainsbury's to supply 6,000 salad bowls at Sunday's Children's Party at The Palace.

In recent years, Kanes has been criticised by some residents who have been opposed to its expansion - criticisms which were voiced again in a national Sunday newspaper.

A resident who did not wish to be named said: "The factory should never have come here in the first place and it certainly shouldn't have been given planning permission to mushroom to the size it is now.

"We fought it all the way and oppose the company's plans to erect additional plants on the site. We are a small picturesque village and the factory is out of place.

"The biggest problem is with the lorries that pass in and out of the factory at all hours.

"They cause both noise and environmental pollution. They are a constant danger because the country lanes are too narrow to allow two of them to pass, so they are always having to mount the kerb."

The company's financial director, Roger Beard, said the owner of Kanes, Dr John Randall, was a villager who lives on the perimeter of the site.

"He respects the opinions of the villagers and tries wherever possible to pass information concerning Kanes to the local inhabitants.

"The site is concealed from the road and considerable landscaping has been put in place to ensure that the factory never dominates the landscape."

He said the company used foreign lorries to import Spanish produce over the winter months, when it could not source locally.

"The survival of Kanes during the winter ensures the survival of local growers," he said. "The HGV traffic to and from the Kanes site has actually decreased from that level going through the village nine years ago."

He said a shuttle service ran between Evesham and Middle Littleton to consolidate small deliveries.

"The company also runs its own bus service which transports up to 300 people and relieves the road of cars," he added.

He said the Kanes' regard for the environment was evident in its investment in recycled water, the generation of electricity and the use of reed beds and ponds for the treatment of waste water.

The company supplied salad for a picnic, produced by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, for the Queen and 2,000 young guests at Sunday's event, at Buckingham Palace.

Kanes' sales and marketing director, Jeremy Folkard, said: "It went very smoothly and we have had positive feedback from Sainsbury's, who attended the event."