Furious parents and residents jeered at councillors after they voted to accept plans for a multi-million pound dump next to their homes and schools.

At a special planning sub-committee meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council yesterday, council members voted eight in favour of the Veolia proposal for a waste station and four against.

Thousands of people have campaigned against the proposed transfer station and recycling facility in Hollingdean Lane, Brighton, fearing it would increase traffic and pollution and create health risks.

Pupils from Downs Infant School in Ditchling Road, Brighton, which is just metres from the site, joined their mothers and fathers at a demonstration outside the meeting at Hove Town Hall.

About 50 parents were believed to have taken their children out of school for the protest.

They blew whistles and carried banners which read: "Save our lungs", "Don't dump on my school" and "My health, my education". When the decision was finally announced, emotional parents shouted "Shame on you" from the public gallery. One parent shouted: "You come and live next to it. These are the children of our future. How can 2,000 objectors not matter? It is a disgrace."

Another jeered: "Curse your children. You have cursed our children, so we curse yours."

Some parents have now vowed to take their children out of the school despite praising it as one of the best in the country.

Campaigners, who formed the group Dump The Dump last year, have been battling the plans since they were revealed by waste contractor Onyx, now Veolia Environmental Services.

Veolia can now begin constructing the £10 million materials recovery facility and waste transfer site at the former abattoir.

It will handle up to 200,000 tonnes of waste daily, which protesters say is unsuitable for an inner city area because it will cause extra traffic, noise and pollution.

But Dump The Dump has declared it will do whatever it can to fight the decision, although there is no right to appeal directly to the council.

Sandra Staufer, from Dump The Dump, whose ten-year-old son Njoku attends Downs Junior School, said: "I thought this was going to happen.

"I just thought I could have put trust in the councillors. I believe in democracy but how can this be democracy when 2,000 people have objected to councillors?

"We are so exhausted and worn out and now there is more work to do. This will not lie dormant."

Mother-of-two Karen Amsden, 41, of Chester Terrace, Brighton, said: "We are devastated. I have never seen such a bad decision. My youngest daughter who is two will not be going to this school now and I will take my six-year-old daughter out.

"The school has been absolutely fantastic and I don't want to take her out of there but no one can guarantee me the safety of my child."

Rachel Attwell, chair of governors at Downs Infant School, told the council: "A playground is a crucial and integral learning environment. Should this planning application go through when the playground is just 15m from the facility?

"We have 360 four to seven-year-olds and I have yet to find a site so close to a school. Does this council really want to set a precedent?"

After the decision she said: "I am very disappointed in the outcome and as governors we will consider our position, but this is not necessarily the end of it. We have a duty to safeguard the health and welfare of our children and we will continue to do so."

Suki Johal, 38, shop proprietor, of Hollingbury Place, Brighton, who has a ten-year-old son at Downs Junior, said: "I am gutted and disappointed.

I actually thought it would go our way all the pros were on our side. I was very upset afterwards. More than anything I am concerned about the health risks. We are all upset and emotional."

Council members heard presentations yesterday from Veolia's project director John Collis and Dr Bernd Eggen of Sussex University, an expert in environmental and atmospheric chemistry.

Dr Eggen raised concerns about radioactive waste and toxic fumes and the fact that workers would have protective clothing while children in a nearby playground would not. He also said the site was ill-chosen and short-sighted.

But Mr Collis said: "Landfills will be closed in 2007/8. Recycling levels need to increase. A materials recycling facility is essential to that development. We looked at alternative sites and compared the options and this site is the best."

He added the proximity of the site to the city would cut back on emissions from travelling to a location further away.

It is estimated 44-tonne HGVs will make 33 return trips a day or six trips every hour.

Central Hove councillor Averil Older, who voted against the dump, said: "The plan is essential for the community but it's in the wrong place."

Parent Jan Alkema, 41, a musician, of Southdown Avenue, Brighton, said: "I can't believe in this day and age they would build one massive facility for the whole city. If I was a council member I would be ashamed of myself for the rest of my life."

His son Jordi, six, who attends Downs Infant School, said: "I don't want it near my school, I don't want it to pollute the air. I think it's bad for me."

David Lepper, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said he was disappointed with the decision and wanted to talk to councillors and campaigners about the possibility of having the application called in by the Government Office for the South East for a public inquiry.