A fisherman who tried to overturn plans for a major riverside development has lost his High Court case.

Clive Mills and his supporters now face a crippling £100,000 legal bill.

They applied for a judicial review into Arun District Council's decision to grant planning permission for the complex on the River Arun in Littlehampton.

Mr Mills, backed by businessmen Crispin Sayers and Michael Inman, launched the action in the hope of blocking a multi-million pound scheme to build homes just yards from where fishing boats were moored.

They hoped to prove the council had either acted unlawfully, irregularly or in a way that went beyond its powers when it approved plans for housing, a pub and a visitors' centre.

But Mr Justice Sullivan refused to grant their wishes and found there was no bias in the council's decision-making process.

Mr Mills also alleged that the development was not in accordance with the council's 1993 Local Plan because it did not provide safeguards for fishing and workshop interests in the harbour.

Judge Sullivan concluded that the case against the council had not been proved.

He said the fact that no warning letter had been served on the council or developers Bellway Homes Ltd prior to litigation commencing provided further grounds for dismissing the claim.

He refused leave for the claimants to lodge an appeal, saying there was "no reasonable prospect of success".

Council leader Derek Whittaker said: "We don't get any satisfaction out of the discomfort of others. But we are justified in the stance we have taken all along the way.

"What concerns me, more than anything else, is that the court costs for the latest action were probably in the region of £100,000 to £130,000, which is going to be picked up by the Federation of Small Businesses.

"It is £70 for a business membership, so that's 1,800 people's membership fees. Is that really a justifiable way to use money?"

A spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses said of the outcome of the case: "It is a blow for the little guys and we are deeply saddened by the decision."