Herefordshire Council could incur further costs in the long-running planning dispute over the Brierley strawberry pickers' camp - but council leaders are in the dark over how much because of the current deadlock.

Last week the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister angered councillors by pulling out of a High Court case leaving an appeal by Hereford-shire strawberry king John Davies uncontested.

Council spokesman John Burnett said there was no legal bill for the authority - costs of its participation in the court action were covered by Central Funds.

But the council spent more than £16,000 to take part in last summer's public inquiry in Hereford - like the other players involved the council was represented by a barrister.

There could be another bill if Mr Prescott's office decided to stage a second public inquiry to resolve the Brierley dispute.

"While the issue rumbles on we have no clear indication of what future costs might be but, clearly, if there was another public inquiry there would be costs," he said.

Time and money was also spent by other inquiry participants - the Arrow Valley Residents Association, the Government planning inspectorate and appellants S & A, the strawberry company.

The firm claimed it spent "hundreds of thousands of pounds" mounting the planning appeal but spokesman Graham Neal said he could not give a precise figure. The company would not be deterred from the battle because of costs, he said.

"We'll fight it all the way - our hope is that the case will move on to Europe," he said.

Meanwhile, county Liberal Democrats attacked the Conservatives over the "strawberry fields fiasco".

"The Conservative-led Herefordshire Council has failed yet again to protect the rural environment," claimed Lib Dem leader Terry James

The council's "failure" to control the spread of polytunnels was key to the current deadlock, he claimed.

"The council cannot defend a position which states that polytunnels do not need planning permission and refuse to grant decent facilities for the thousands of workers who have to be employed in them," he said.