THE Government is commissioning a study on the environmental and health impacts of Throckmorton's foot-and-mouth carcase burial site.

It comes months after the Evening News revealed village residents' fears that the site was making them ill.

But one resident who lives next to the site has described the decision as "shutting the door after the horse has bolted."

Defra has announced that it will commission a study from independent experts, in a bid to show residents that they face no risks.

The decision has been supported by the Environment Agency and South Worcestershire Primary Health Care Trust.

Tenders will go out shortly and the report will be submitted to Defra by the end of March next year.

It will then be published on the department's website. Defra believes the selection, construction and operation of the site have been properly carried out.

But the people of Throckmorton have expressed concerns about the site, which the department has acknowledged.

They fear seepage from the 40-acre site could get into water supplies, and they say there has been a plague of flies and an increase in the number of local people suffering from sore throats and mouths.

Defra admits the development of the site last year was a rapid response to a national emergency.

Animal Health Minister Elliot Morley said he hoped the report would contribute to a better understanding of the work at Throckmorton.

"Defra has taken a positive approach to reassure residents and the public about the key questions people may still have on the safety of the site and its environmental impacts," he said.

"Defra sees a review by independent expert consultants to be the best way to do this."

But Throckmorton homeowner Richard Mott said this was too little too late.

"It's a pity they didn't do this 12 months ago before they started burying the animals," he said.

"It seems to me that they're wasting a lot of money. It will be another five or six months before the report's submitted, so we won't know the effect the site's having until then.

"It's a case of shutting the door after the horse has bolted."