WORK on Worcestershire's controversial £165 million incinerator is now carrying on until 2am seven days a week, it has emerged.

In a race to get the plant up and running on time under-pressure bosses have secured an extension so workers are on site for 20 hours a day.

Your Worcester News can reveal how the original approval from Worcestershire County Council allowed activity on the land from 7am-7pm to meet the opening target of February or March 2017.

Mercia Waste Management has now secured a fresh deal with Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS), the body monitoring the work, for a 6am-2am time limit.

The impact on the environment will be reviewed along the way, with the new permission expected to last no longer than four months.

During the twilight hours the activity on the site has been limited to "time critical" construction and maintenance including excavation and drainage work, with HGVs banned from leaving or entering.

WRS says it has had no complaints over the work so far, which has mainly involved clearance of the site and excavation to lay the groundwork for the foundations at the Hartlebury Trading Estate.

The time extension comes amid fresh criticism from campaigners Herefordshire and Worcestershire Action Group, which says it remains concerned about the cost of the plant, which will be known as 'EnviRecover'.

Sheridan Tranter, of Old Worcester Road, Hartlebury, who is part of the group, said: "The National Audit Office has stated that £89 million has been spent already with very little to show for it, yet (the council) is spending an extra £165 million now."

A statement from Mercia Waste Management says the extended hours will be used for "production disruptive, time critical" activities.

It said: "There will be no HGV activity to or from the site during night time hours."

A spokesman for the county council said it was a decision taken by the firm.

Councillor Anthony Blagg, cabinet member for environment, said: "After years of planning EnviRecover is becoming a reality, which is good news for the county's residents as it will help the environment and also save the taxpayer millions of pounds.

"We see this as the final piece in the jigsaw for tackling the issue of non-recyclable waste but we'd stress, to avoid any confusion, we are 100 per cent committed to firstly limiting any waste produced and then continuing to increasing our recycling rates.

"The facility complements these aims. It does not replace them."

The plant will handle up to 200,000 tonnes of rubbish from Worcestershire and Herefordshire, burning it to generate electricity to connect to the national grid.

A report by the county council last year stated that although the cost of dealing with the waste by 2042 would be £1.6 billion, not having an incinerator and carrying on using landfill would see it top £2.1 billion.

More than 250 workers are involved in the construction and 45 permanent jobs will be created once it opens.