A farmer at the centre of protests over the planting of genetically modified maize, has angered environmental campaigners by agreeing to a second trial on his land.

Members of the environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth had urged Christopher Lewis to abandon plans to plant six hectares of GM maize on land at Glebe Farm, near Hinton Waldrist in south Oxfordshire.

Despite the protests, Mr Lewis has agreed to host a second trial, and is preparing to plant seven hectares of GM oil seed rape.

Villagers joined environmental campaigners in a meeting at Hinton Waldrist village hall on Wednesday to discuss the trials.

The meeting was organised by FOE and the Oxford-based pressure group Oxygene. Only local people were allowed into the meeting, following fears that the session could be taken over by hard-line protesters. The meeting was packed and people had to be turned away.

The herbicide-resistant maize crop, which has been developed by Aventis, was sown last week, between the village and the A420, as part of 28 farm-scale trials in England and Wales.

A similar farm-scale trial of oil seed rape at Shirburn, near Watlington, two years ago, was abandoned after the crop was attacked by environmental campaigners during a Stop the Crop rally.

Spokesman Jean Saunders, from Longcot, near Faringdon, said she would continue to campaign for an end to the trials.

She said: "These are large farm-scale trials but there has been no process of public consultation. We wanted to inform local people about what is happening."

Mr Lewis said: "We need knowledge. We have got the brains in this country to conquer hunger in the world at large. GM is something that has got to be explored, and is something the rest of the world seems to be using enormously."

After hearing arguments Mr Lewis told the meeting he would have to think about it.

Hinton Waldrist Parish Council are now organising a meeting with a Government scientist and an Eventis official.