The Kempley farmer who has agreed to grow genetically modified crops on his land as part of a Government trial has defended his actions, calling such crops "the way ahead".

Reg Watkins, of Stonehouse Farm, will grow GM oil-seed rape this spring on a site close to Kempley Brook.

He said: "It hasn't been planted yet, but it will be planted, despite pressure.

"These crops are the way ahead, despite what Greenpeace says. They will reduce the need for chemicals and be more profitable for us to grow. There is an awful lot of scaremongering going ahead, a lot of misinformation going about."

Greenpeace recently sent out letters to Kempley residents, giving details of Mr Watkins' plans.

Mr Watkins' field will be one of 13 sites across the UK chosen by the Government for GM oil-seed rape trials this spring.

Mr Watkins said he had been to the USA and seen GM crops being grown, where they have been part of the agricultural scene for 15 years.

Barry Hill, of Wellington Heath, spokesman for Malvern Hills Friends of the Earth, has warned that the flowering of the crop could lead to the genetic contamination of non-GM crops.

He said: "Given that bees will carry the pollen from this planting to other oil-seed rape crops within eight miles after just one day of the crop flowering, this planting affects local farmers, be they organic or not."

Mr Watkins said that pollen for GM crops would only be active for a matter of hours and that it would only be carried to immediate areas, yards rather than miles away from the field.