Nearly 50 people crowded into Ringland village hall this evening as the parish council discussed plans for a paintball centre.

Ringland Estate has made an application to turn 35 hectares of woodland, off Ringland Lane, in Morton on the Hill, into a paintball site.

At tonight's parish council meeting, a packed village hall was shown a video of paintball before villagers who have been paintballing spoke of their concerns at it being so close to their village.

Vice-chairman Ian Coleman said: 'I have spoken to several who have been and all said that if that was me, no way would I have it next to me in my village.'

Another concern raised was how big the operation would have to be to compete against a number of other paintball locations in the area.

Chairman George Crayston said: 'You must take away from this meeting what these people say and what these people think because it will be a disaster for this village.'

George Black, of Ringland Estate, said that he had conducted noise tests in the village and had employed an ecology survey.

'I went through all the things I could think of that would be wrong for the village,' he said. 'If, at the end of the day, something needs to be done and I can't do it, then I can't do it.'

However, he added he would not be withdrawing the application.

District councillor Simon Woodbridge said that a noise impact assessment would be taken at three different sites in the village in accordance with government criteria.

He added: 'I will speak in a balanced way that recognises a huge amount of pressure to seek economic development.'

The paintball centre application includes proposals for three portable buildings on the site, including an administrative block, a canteen, and toilets. It is proposed the site will operate seven days a week between 8am and 5pm and that the centre would create seven jobs.

A petition against the site has been signed by 140 people and a Facebook group opposing the move has also been created.

The parish council has until Saturday to make its objections. The Highways Agency has registered an objection.