A battle is being waged in a Pembrokeshire holiday village over plans to reintroduce military night firing after a 25-year break.

The Ministry of Defence wants to launch surface to air missiles late into the night at Manorbier Royal Artillery Range but locals and tourism operators are not happy.

Range commandant, Major Blaize Warburton, said the intention was to fire up to 100 missiles for a maximum of 20 nights a year.

This compared to the 88 nights and 1,700 rounds of high calibre ammunition Castlemartin Range is authorised to fire.

But locals and tourism operators are not appeased. Retired BBC executive Andrew McCabe retired to Manorbier in 1998 looking for peace in the solitude of the countryside.

But he reckoned his life had been disturbed to 'a great degree' by activities at the Range. "On a day when there is lots of activity you feel like you are living inside the range itself," he said.

Tourism operators fear the proposal, to be presented to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority along with a noise monitoring report in the autumn, will drive visitors away.

Lorna Greasley, who runs the Castlemead Hotel a short distance from Manorbier beach, said it would have a detrimental impact on tourism.

"The length of time in which people can make enough money to live and stay in Pembrokeshire is short enough without having that compromised," said Mrs Greasley.

The proposals have been put forward because the principal weapons system fired at Manorbier RAR, a high velocity missile system, is being equipped with a sight which can operate at night.

Major Blaize Warburton insisted it was essential that the Army trained in all conditions. "In order to maintain the effectiveness of our forces we need to carry out training in the conditions in which they are expected to operate," he said.