News that a power-generating waste incinerator could be built on the Brunel Industrial Estate in the town has been described as 'the biggest thing to hit Newton Abbot since the Luftwaffe.'

Fears have been expressed about potential pollution and bad smells while the business community is worried compulsory purchase orders could scupper job creation plans and hit exports.

Details of the scheme emerged on Wednesday after worried residents in Forde Close contacted the town council.

The householders, whose properties are surrounded by commercial development, had been told by Devon County Council that their homes were where the facility could be built.

In the letter from planning officer George Marshall, it said 'recovery facilities' such as a plant that generated electricity and heat could be developed.