A Sussex landfill site has been used to bury 2,500 sheep carcasses in the battle against foot and mouth disease.

The facility is set to accept more deliveries as the authorities step up their measures to eradicate the disease, but it will not be used to dispose of cattle because of the threat from BSE.

Covered lorries have been delivering the slaughtered animals from other parts of Britain to the site at Warnham, near Horsham, the most recent arriving late on Tuesday.

The controversial decision by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, to use two privately-owned landfill sites in West Sussex to bury the animals has outraged residents living in the area, particularly as the region is currently foot and mouth disease free.

But waste bosses are reassuring residents the carcasses are disease free and are those of sheep killed as a precaution rather than animals infected with foot and mouth.

The Warnham landfill site, which is owned by Biffa and the other site at Small Dole, owned by Viridor, were identified as safe burial sites for the carcasses by MAFF as they are fully lined which would prevent fluids from the decomposing animals from seeping into the water system.

But residents in the region have joined West Sussex County Council and Horsham District Council in objecting to the burial of carcasses in foot-and-mouth free Sussex.

Resident Dudley Kent, of Henfield, said: "It's quite inconceivable that they are bringing animals into this area to bury. It is unbelievably dangerous surely when the site at Small Dole is on the Adur flood plain."

Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames has branded the move as insane and said: "We have, thank God and touching every form of wood, been spared this vile disease in West Sussex so what on earth is the point of risking even by the remotest chance the risk of spread?

"I have written to the Minister of Agriculture today to tell him that this insanity must be stopped at once and I await his response with great interest."

As yet, no deliveries of animals have been made to Small Dole, but Warnham has accepted 12 lorry loads.

The 2,500 sheep carcasses weighed 110 tons. The landfill site has a capacity to take a total of 4.5 million tons of waste from domestic and industrial outlets before it is considered full and currently takes 40,000 tons of rubbish each month.

A spokesman for Biffa said: "None of these sheep are infected, they are animals which have been precautionary slaughtered, each carcass and the vehicle is disinfected when it leaves the area and before it comes on site."

He said corporate policy was not to accept cattle at the site. It came into force to prevent the burial of BSE-infected cattle carcasses in any of its sites.