A Norfolk recycling centre is to close, despite 96pc of people consulted saying it should stay open.

Norfolk County Councillors today agreed to the closure of Docking Recycling Centre, from January next year.

Members of the authority's environment, development and transport committee agreed, by nine votes to eight, to the closure.

The council says that will save £70,000.

But in consultation, there were 122 responses, of which 117 'strongly disagreed' with the closure.

At today's meeting, division councillor, Conservative Michael Chenery had urged the committee to keep it open, to prevent his constituents having to drive elsewhere to dispose of rubbish.

He said: 'You are going to disadvantage a lot of my residents. A lot of them have diesel cars, so they will be polluting all over the place.'

In the public consultation, fly-tipping topped the list of concerns as a result of the closure of the centre, which had 15,000 visitors last year.

Mr Chenery said: 'I think this will lead to more and more fly tipping.'

And, in a reference to the committees decision to reduce grass cutting on verges, he said: 'You won't need to stop cutting the verges, because they will be covered with mattresses and kitchen sinks.'

But UKIP's Toby Coke, chairman of the committee, said nothing had changed his view that the centre should shut, He said: 'it's not surprising that most residents are dead against it. 'But most of the complaints are that it will be inconvenient.

'If inconvenience is all they get from the cuts, I think they ought to be thankful.'

Officers said attempts would be made to transfer the staff to other recycling centres.

The committee also agreed, on the casting vote of Mr Coke, to close five other recycling centres in bank holidays, subject consultation.

That would save the authority £80,000.