LOCAL artist Hilary Roper had a burning desire to help the campaign against Keighley's proposed waste incinerator.

She used her talent to create paintings depicting local feelings towards the planned facility on the former gas works at Marley.

The colourful pictures are now on display in the window of Keighley MP Robbie Moore's office on North Street.

Mr Moore praised the artwork for highlighting local objections to the controversial project, and hopes it will encourage more people to object.

The Environment Agency last month said it was ‘minded to approve’ by granting an Environmental Permit for the waste incinerator, and is running a public consultation on the plans until July 29.

Internationally-acclaimed artist Hilary has previously focussed primarily on children’s books and oil paintings, however she is using the new installation to make the strength of local feeling about the proposed incinerator known.

Hilary's pictures show the environmental damage she believes a waste incinerator would cause to an area rich in natural beauty.

Hilary said: “It is a pleasure to be asked by Robbie to decorate his new office window in Keighley with my very own art installation encouraging people to object to the Keighley incinerator.

"I am so disheartened and angry to learn that the Environment Agency are ‘minded to approve’ the environmental permit for the incinerator.

“The middle painting in my trio installation is a tree but also a plume, representing the smoke from the incinerator. Note that it is spiking the rainbow orbs across the valley in destruction.”

Robbie said that it was a "real bonus" for the anti-incinerator campaign to benefit from the work of someone with Hilary's reputation.

He said: "I have been contacted by hundreds of residents about the incinerator and there are very few people in favour. The window display is a novel way to illustrate the air pollution an incinerator at Marley would cause.”

Objectors have until July 29 to register their concerns about the incinerator, the artwork will be displayed throughout the consultation period.

Alongside the paintings is Hilary's poem entitled The Plume and Pheasant, describing output and incinerator as a "six headed ogre spiking everything in its wake" as it spreads across a "river valley lush"..

She writes: "This beautiful valley with trout in its river,

Buzzards swing in high limits, free-falling, quiver,

Above, where the deer graze on soft, mossy ledges,

Crested newts flickering, orange and spotted

In their homes, well allotted.

All will go.

The only flow will be the black plume which like a disease,

Will spread.

Devouring our minds, our flow, our bread."