English actor Jeremy Irons has pledged his support for villagers in St Albans who are fighting a controversial county incinerator planned for a neighbouring Green Belt site.

%image(15552274, type="article-full", alt="Actor Jeremy Irons, who appears in Candida Brady's documentary feature "Trashed", has voiced support for Colney Heath's anti-incinerator campaign")

Jeremy, who has appeared in films such as “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”, was contacted by Susan Salter of Colney Heath in the hopes of enlisting his support for a local anti-incinerator campaign.

Villagers are fighting Veolia’s scheme to build a massive waste burner a mile from Colney Heath at New Barnfield, Hatfield.

Herts county council last year approved the plan despite objections from more than 6,300 residents.

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles called-in the scheme, with the public inquiry into the scheme now in its sixth and final week.

Susan, spokeswoman for Colney Heath Against Barnfield Incinerator (CHABI), said she contacted Jeremy after seeing his docu-feature “Trashed” which looks into the effect of toxic emissions from incinerators.

Susan said: “I told him we are fighting against the incinerator and that the council doesn’t seem to be listening. He said we should do all we can to stop it. Jeremy has travelled the world and seen the devastation that incinerators causes. He campaigns against them.”

Witnesses for and against the incinerator have been heard during the course of the public inquiry into the proposal to build a 380,000 tonnes per year incinerator at New Barnfield.

Tonight, Tuesday (22), there will be a special evening session of the inquiry, at which residents will be making representations to the planning inspector at the Fielder Centre, on the Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield Avenue.

Cathy Roe, a member of the New Barnfield Action Fund committee, said speakers include Grant Shapps, MP for Welwyn Hatfield, and a representative of Colney Heath parish council.

She urged St Albans locals opposed to the waste burner to attend a protest outside the centre at 5.30pm, before going in to listen to the inquiry at 6pm.