PropertyplaceholderConfigurer :properties file in WEB-INF not found

I have a typical eclipse based web-app structure project.I coded for backend for the application and wanted to test it.I am using spring IOC and hibernate in the backend.So , all the xml and properties file are located in WEB-INF.When I am trying to test the backend through a stand alone main method ,it is not able to find the properties file although the properties file and xml are loacted in the same folder i.e . WEB-INF.