Government plans to house asylum seekers in rural accommodation centres suffered a serious setback after two local authorities voted against the proposals.

Councillors at both Rushcliffe Borough Council in Nottinghamshire and Cherwell District Council in Oxfordshire rejected planning applications for centres in their areas on Tuesday night.

Planning permission for a third site at Throckmorton in Worcestershire is expected to be ruled on by councillors within the next few weeks.

The former RAF Newton site near West Bridgford was the preferred site in Nottinghamshire while in Oxfordshire, Ministry of Defence (MoD) land at Bicester had been chosen.

The three centres, which were announced by the home secretary in May, would hold about 750 refugees who would be able to leave during the day but would have to return at night.

Since the plans for the holding centres were announced, they have come under attack from both the local residents and groups representing asylum seekers.

A delegation from Nottinghamshire is due to travel to London next week to seek assurances from the government that a public inquiry into the plans will be held before any building begins.