A SEVERN barrage would be too expensive, according to leading economists.

Financial experts have claimed power generated by a 10-mile barrage across the River Severn could be produced more cheaply using other green technologies.

Frontier Economics, Europe's leading economic consultancy, assessed the justification for public funding of a large Severn barrage and compared its cost with that of generating the same amount of energy using other renewable technologies.

Matthew Bell, author of the report, said: "It is hard to think of reasons for the public sector to build or operate a barrage which would not be equally applicable to many other projects and assets that sit in the private sector.

"Not only is the private sector more than able to finance a scheme of this scale but, even using the most conservative estimates of costs, the barrage is one of the most expensive options for clean energy generation there is."

Last October a report by the Sustainable Development Commission, said if a barrage between Cardiff and Weston-super-Mare was built, it should be state funded and state run.

It is believed a barrage could generate 17,000 gigawatts of electricity each year about five per cent of the national need.

The report by Frontier Economics was commissioned by a group of environmental organisations including, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the National Trust, the Wildlife Trusts and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT).

Martin Spray, chief executive of WWT, said: "WWT fully supports a move towards renewable low-carbon energy generation.

"However, building a large barrage across the Severn estuary would have such a huge cost to the natural environment that it cannot be considered as a sustainable option.

"As we expected, Frontier's report finds the economic cost is similarly disproportionate and therefore we cannot see how the government will be able to justify financial support for a Severn barrage."