Villagers are angry at plans which they claim will "dump" thousands of homes on their doorstep.

People in Thurmaston, Barkby Thorpe and Barkby, are protesting at moves to build 5,000 homes on farmland in the area.

The site has been earmarked for development by planners at Charnwood Borough Council, who need to find space for 8,500 homes in the district between now and 2026, to meet Government targets.

In Thurmaston, residents said it would ruin the character of their area – while villagers in Barkby fear the extra homes could create a "greater Leicester" and change their village into a suburb.

A six-week public consultation on the council's scheme, which also includes 3,500 homes between Loughborough and Shepshed, ended on Friday.

Thurmaston Action Group said the scheme should be scrapped and most of the 5,000 homes built elsewhere.

Chairman Gerry Bowman said: "We don't want these homes dumped on us. There has already been a lot of development here and this would effectively double the size of the village.

"We feel it is fundamentally unfair to expect Thurmaston – with a population of 11,000 – to have to take 5,000 new homes, while Loughborough with its 58,000 population, will only get about 3,000. It will totally transform this community and not for the better.

"It will create a lot of social problems for Thurmaston, which is a very nice village.

"We would like to see the housing shared more fairly around some of the other villages in the borough, such as Quorn or Birstall."

The action group has also objected to a proposal that the development should include a permanent travellers' site with five to 10 pitches, a transit camp of the same size and space for five families of showmen.

Villagers in Barkby and Barkby Thorpe said their peaceful village life would be swallowed up by an expanding Leicester.

Action group chairman Owen Bentley said: "We've been told by a council officer the development will come within 200 metres of Barkby Thorpe. If this were to happen the identity of the hamlet would be obliterated and Barkby's would be severely compromised.

"The action group will campaign to protect this unique corner of rural Leicestershire."

The council's plans also include 61 acres of office, industrial and warehouse development, where some of the new residents will work.

It said the plan would lead to new shops being built, a secondary and two new primary schools, a new country park, and potentially a park-and-ride area and a new railway station.

Planning spokesman Councillor Hillary Fryer said no decisions had yet been taken on the plan.

She said: "We will take all the comments and points of view expressed in the consultation and use them to decide the best way forward. That will take a little while."