HOLCOMBE Moor was identified as a possible nuclear waste dumping ground, according to previously top secret reports.

The 586 acre moor, owned by the Ministry of Defence, was one of only three sites in Greater Manchester to be put on the list in the mid 1980s.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, nuclear waste agency Nirex has published the full list of 537 sites in Britain, which were subsequently assessed and whittled down to a shortlist of 12.

Luckily for Bury, the site was dropped at the first stage on the grounds of geology and population density, and did not make the final dozen, which included well known places like Sellafield and Dounreay.

The news came as a surprise to Bury North MP David Chaytor, who spelled out the potential perils of the atom age.

"It's impossible to have a nuclear power station without having a nuclear waste dump," he said. "The waste can remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years. The idea that the nuclear option is the environmentally friendly solution to the problem of climate change is utterly ludicrous.

"Holcombe Moor as a potential site reminds us very forcefully of the serious choices we have to make about future energy policy. Given the straight choice of living near a wind farm or a nuclear waste dump, I am fairly confident what my constituents would choose."

Mr Chaytor said the list should have been published a decade ago, adding: "The traditional secrecy surrounding the nuclear industry is one of the reasons why there's such deep public hostility to any expansion of nuclear generation.

"We need a broad and balanced mixture that delivers energy in the safest, cleanest, most efficient way. The economics of nuclear energy are insane - it's the most expensive way of generating electricity, a gigantic black hole sucking in taxpayers' money. We're only just starting to decommission the old power stations and nobody knows the long term costs. A whole new generation of nuclear stations is not the way forward."