An expert on health and pollution is expected to label plans to burn 300,000 tonnes of waste a year in Oxfordshire "potentially lethal" next week.

Dr Dick Van Steenis has been invited by campaign group Ardley Against Incinerator to speak in Bicester on Wednesday.

The former GP and adviser to the House of Lords will present data he believes demonstrates a link between incinerators and poor health in downwind populations.

He claimed infant mortality, cancer and depression were linked to particles produced during the incineration process.

Ardley is one of two options Oxfordshire County Council is considering for a new £100m incinerator to avoid landfill taxes.

The other possible location is Sutton Courtenay, near Abingdon.

Tonight, the council and Viridor - the firm behind the planned incinerator at Ardley - rejected Mr Steenis's claims.

AAI chairman and Ardley resident Jonathan O'Neill, 32, said County Hall, Oxfordshire NHS Primary Care Trust and Viridor had all been invited to Wednesday's meeting at Cooper School, in Churchill Road, Bicester, which is expected to attract more than 250 people.

He said: "We are delighted to have someone of Dr Van Steenis's stature to combat the council's spin with hard data and scientific fact.

"Incineration is an expensive, outdated and dangerous solution to the county's waste challenges. We want to share information and hear all sides of the story."

More than 500 householders who live within a mile of the Ardley site have signed a petition opposing the incinerator, which would be as large as Arsenal Football Club's Emirates Stadium and produce enough energy to power 18,000 homes.

But Dr Van Steenis claimed Bicester, Brackley and Buckingham would be affected if the council chose Ardley as the site.

He said: "The primary problem is the size and content of the particles released into the atmosphere.

"Councils are fulfilling statutory regulations - but the statutory regulations don't protect public health, they are a confidence trick."

Viridor said incineration facilities used safe, highly-regulated technology to extract energy from residual wastes that remained after materials suitable for recycling and composting had been removed.

An Oxfordshire County Council spokesman said: "Although campaign groups have singled out incineration as an option to be opposed, the technology is widely and safely used in many European countries.

"There are already approximately 20 facilities in Britain, 128 in France, 65 in Germany, 30 in Denmark, and 29 in Sweden."

The council is expected to announce the site of the incinerator next spring.

Wednesday's public meeting starts at 7.15pm.