Plans for a hard stone quarry just 700 metres from a quiet Northumberland village have been branded "madness" by one of the area's most famous sons.
Newcastle-based company North East Concrete has requested planning permission to extract four million tonnes of dolerite from a 28.7 hectare site near Kirkwhelpington.
The plans have attracted opposition from local residents, who have formed the campaign group Kirkwhelpington Residents Against Needless Extraction - and now the group have been backed by a famous face.
