Plans for a solar farm the size of about 60 football pitches have been approved for farmland in Worcestershire.

Applicants Solar Planning Limited said the farm could power 12,000 homes.

About 30 people objected to the scheme but Green councillor Matthew Jenkins said he supported it.

'Short-termism'

The farm would be located near National Trust property Croome Park and the Hereford and Worcester Gardens Trust called on the council to resist any obstacle to people enjoying views of the building and grounds.

Conservative councillor Barrie Parmenter was one of those who voted against the plans, which he described as "short-termism".

"I personally don't think we should be covering agricultural land with solar panels," he said.

"We give planning permission for new houses and factories and I think a condition of any new build should be that it includes solar panels.

"We need agricultural fields to produce food."

Mr Jenkins, a Green Party councillor with Worcestershire County Council, said the scheme sounded like "good news".

"It's a way of producing clean energy and not causing damage to the wildlife," he said.

"There's huge potential out there for solar farms all over the place. We are only just scratching the surface, solar farms could go "hand-in-hand" with food production.”

Many parts of southern England have seen a boom in solar power generation in recent years.