Hundreds of protesters marched through Lidlington on Thursday night (October 9) in a torch-lit campaign against plans to build an eco-town in rural Bedfordshire.

Residents carried theatre-style flaming torches through the village before congregating outside Lidlington Village Hall, where developer O&H Properties Ltd was holding another in its series of roadshows about the scheme.

The demonstration was organised by Lidlington Action Group, with Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire, joining them.

Beki Turner, spokesman for the action group, said: "We were really pleased, there were more than 200 people who turned out who all felt very strongly.

"What impressed me most was the number of teenagers and young people. I had thought that young people would be in favour of making the village larger or turn it into a town.

"When we met Nadine outside the village hall she led us all in chanting 'No eco town'.

"I think we were really able to take the argument, and the force of feeling, to the developers."

Proposals to build an eco-town in the heart of Bedfordshire have proved highly controversial since they were first revealed in April.

Residents believe the plans would destroy local communities and have cast doubt on how environmentally-friendly the scheme is.

The county is one of 13 sites shortlisted for development, after the Government completed the first of two rounds of consultation.

Government proposals would see 15,000-plus new homes being built on greenfield and brownfield land by 2020, at a development called Marston Vale.

Last month the A421 was closed while another protest group, the Marston Moretaine Eco-Town Action Group (MMETAG), organised its own demonstration against the eco-town plans, with more than 700 people turning out.