A BUSINESSMAN at the centre of a row over an animal incinerator has been found dead following a shooting incident.

Edward Noddings, the owner of a slaughterers firm at Charltons, near Guisborough, east Cleveland, was found dead at his premises.

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said that they were called to JE Noddings and Son at about 6pm on Tuesday, but added that the death was not being treated as suspicious.

Four months ago, Mr Noddings, who was in his mid-50s, won a protracted battle to create a large animal incinerator on his land. The plan divided the Charltons community of 500 people for 18 months.

He told The Northern Echo in September how the dispute had been very difficult for him, his wife, Jean, and son Darren.

The scheme was first approved early last year by the North Yorks Moors National Park Authority. But opponents, concerned about possible health risks, sought a High Court injunction to prevent the project going ahead.

But the case was withdrawn after the authority conceded that its decision to allow planning permission was flawed.

But Mr Noddings made a second application in September and planning permission was again granted by the authority.

This time opponents lost their appeal at the High Court to challenge the park authority's approval of the scheme.

Speaking after resubmitting the second application, Mr Noddings, who planned to continue living on the site with his wife, said he felt no sense of victory.

He said that the company could go out of business without the incinerator because the 24-month rule, brought in after the foot-and-mouth crisis, dictated that it could not produce pet food from slaughtered animals over 24 months and must instead be burnt.

Len Peacock, from the Charltons Anti-Incinerator Campaign, said everyone in the village was numbed by the tragedy.

He said protestors had recently been getting on well with Mr Noddings who seemed happy and relaxed.

"This is a terrible tragedy for the Noddings family and the whole village," he said.