Villagers in the Wittenhams have joined the fight against a proposed £1bn incinerator in Sutton Courtenay.

Seventy people gathered at Long Wittenham Village Hall last week to hear from action group Sutton Courtenay Against the Incinerator, which is objecting to Oxfordshire County Council’s proposals to build a waste burner near their homes.

Wittenham residents said they were worried about their health, because the two villages are downwind of the site in prevailing westerly winds.

Last month, the campaign group called on Oxfordshire County Council to commission an independent investigation in addition to the work being done by the Health Protection Agency and Environment Agency, to discover whether plans to burn mixed waste would release harmful dioxins into the atmosphere. The plea was rejected by councillors.

The county council wants to build an incinerator at Sutton Courtenay or Ardley, near Bicester, capable of burning 300,000 tonnes of waste a year.

The council will decide on the plans later this year.

Mother-of-one, Grace Clifton, 34, of Long Wittenham, said: “I have seen the growing level of concern in the village and I’ve been really impressed with SCAI and the information they have put together.

“We are directly downwind of it and the prevailing winds mean it will be worse here than anywhere else.

“I have a three-year-old daughter and my main concern is her health.”

She has set up an email address and is urging people to get in touch with her at wittenhamsagainstincineration@hotmail.co.uk

Callum MacKenzie, a member of SCAI and a Sutton Courtenay resident, said: “People in the Wittenhams are downwind of the pollution fallout so they are desperately worried.”

Mr MacKenzie said the group had been invited to speak to residents of other villages potentially affected, including Dorchester and Aston Tirrold.

He urged everyone to show their support for the campaign during the next round of public consultation which will begin in the next few weeks.

He said: “It’s stimulating people away from apathy into being quite angry.”

More than 4,500 people have signed SCAI’s petition objecting to the proposals.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council said said no date had been set for the planning application to be considered, although it was likely to be in the spring.

He said details on the next period of public consultation would be released soon, adding: “An independent assessment of health impacts will be conducted by the Environment Agency and the Health Protection Agency.”

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