The co-founder of The Eden Project, Sir Tim Smit, has caused a stir by labelling ''quite a few'' Cornish people - as ''tossers''.

Smit, 67, designed the attraction in Cornwall - but has now been less than complimentary about its population.

He was speaking about the criticism he receives from some Cornish people about 'representing' Cornwall when he's not from there.

Sir Tim says his detractors could represent themselves more if they were ''a bit more f***ing articulate''.

He says the perception the county had ''goOd old days'' is wrong and ''they've been bad for about 70 years''.

Tim, who was born in Holland but grew up in Sussex, added that ''they've been bad because of tossers like you'' - referring to people who romanticize the past.

The businessman made the comments on The Reason Why pod episode Overexposure about life in 21st century Cornwall.

He said: "One of the problems in Cornwall is if you say anything - if you're not Cornish - and you say anything about it, they say you're an arrogant so-and-so speaking for the Cornish.

''You feel, and I don't, but you feel like saying 'well if you were a bit more f***ing articulate you could speak up for yourself but you haven't'.

"You've all got mums who made the best pasties in the world and it's fantastic and it's fabulous, and you talk about the good old days and the good old days never were the good old days.

'''They've been bad for about 70 years - and they've been bad because of tossers like you.

''And that's what I would actually say to quite a few Cornish people.

''I really would because you cannot define your life in terms of what you don't like.

"You've actually got to define your life in terms of the sunny uplands you'd like to aspire to, and what makes me cross is that there was plenty to be genuinely angry about injustice in Cornwall, in terms of the way central government saw it and it was allowed to be painted as if it was political as opposed to being factually correct.

''It is factually correct that Cornwall has been dealt a bad hand and it deserves significantly more.

The Reason Why is a podcast series written and presented by actor and musician Seamas Carey.

Sir Tim also defends Rick Stein who has faced criticism from some Cornish people.

Tim said: "People forget that he's a chef with a successful restaurant who was the first chef on television who rooted his chef-ery in the town in which he lived.

''His foundation was the fishermen of Padstow and him being a chef of fish.

"He is personally quite anxious about being seen as a spokesman for Cornwall because he knows you get bricks thrown at you for saying you speak for anybody here."