PRESSURE is being put on council chiefs to sell off Worcestershire's treasured farms in a desperate bid to raise cash.

The chairman of a powerful county council watchdog has urged the authority to consider hiving off its 95 farms and smallholdings, many of which have been established around Worcestershire since the First World War to give a role to returning servicemen.

Your Worcester News can reveal how the sites, which cover 3,300 acres, are rented to tenants and bring in £300,000 to the coffers each year.

Over the last decade at least 54 have already been sold, but the rest are still in council ownership and spread out around every part of Worcestershire including Lower Broadheath, Castlemorton, Norton, Welland, Longdon and scores of other locations.

Councillor Richard Udall, who chairs the council's overview, scrutiny and performance board, says he wants the leadership to explore selling off the rest to raise cash.

His request has infuriated rival councillors, who have labelled it "distressing", and led to criticism from the National Farmers Union (NFU) yesterday.

Amid fears moves to market them could lead to private developers circling, Coun Udall has agreed to stop short of making a formal, written request for the Conservative leadership to investigate it.

But some councillors say a public figure even suggesting it will cause considerable alarm.

Councillor Tom Wells, who is a member of the watchdog, said: "We've got no evidence at all that a private landowner will be able to offer what we do, which is a gateway for people to get into agriculture.

"It's a row we just don't need to be having. It'll create a huge amount of uncertainty and distress."

He added he was "astounded and shocked" by the request, saying "how will I explain to the good folk" in his Powick ward, where there are nine council farms and smallholdings, "not to worry".

Worcester Councillor Andy Roberts said: "Our farms provide exemplars for others to follow. I am concerned about this."

Cllr Udall said the council should "investigate the potential" for sell-offs, calling it a possible way "to raise resource".

He defended it as "only a suggestion" to help offset cuts to services.

Feedback from the meeting will be sent to the Tory administration, but without the formal request on farms and smallholdings after councillors asked for it to be deleted.

After the debate Clare Greener, from the NFU, said: "County farms and smallholdings have real history - originally they were for returning servicemen to give them something to go back to after fighting in the war.

"They support new entrants to agriculture and for many, are the most realistic route into farming - that is why we support them, so we would not want to see this."

The county council's 95 sites range from tiny smallholdings of a few acres to fully-blown farms.