Campaigners have won their fight to save accident and emergency services at the Princess Royal Hospital.

Health bosses have pledged to keep the accident and emergency department at the Haywards Heath hospital following a long-running battle.

Now they are looking at investing more cash in the department, recruiting staff and opening extra buildings.

Last year, we launched a campaign to stop the department being downgraded. More than 50,000 people signed petitions against the move.

Anne Jones, chairman of the Princess Royal Action Group, said: "The A&E will not only remain in Mid Sussex, but it will be resourced better. There has been an enormous change in the commitment to the hospital.

"The Government is investing a lot of money within the NHS and we will end up with a hospital to be proud of."

The announcement came eight months after NHS chiefs unveiled a discussion document outlining three options for potential hospital changes across central Sussex.

One of the options was to move all trauma and emergency surgery to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

But that option has been ditched, and the health bosses say they intend to improve services at both hospitals.

They said the plans would be included in a public consultation process, due to start in June, involving all health services in the area.

It is not known what the review will include but the future of A&E services at Haywards Heath has been assured for the next three to five years.

Money to maintain them would come from the existing budget.

Richard Penney, director of planning, performance and communication at the Princess Royal, said: "It is good news. There is also going to be an extension of the outpatients department to create two extra consulting rooms and that will start in June. Accident and emergency is staying here."

A spokesman for the Central Sussex Partnership Project (CSPP), which drew up the original proposals, said: "We are keeping accident emergency services at the Princess Royal and also at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. We have done a lot of listening in the last weeks and months.

"There were a lot of concerns from people in Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill that the department was going to be run down.

"The health authorities and the trusts have listened and we can say now there is no plan to close accident and emergency."

Dame Vera Lynn, who lives in Ditchling and was a major campaigner in the fight to retain accident and emergency, said: "I am thrilled and delighted at this news.

"This will put a lot of minds at rest. I never knew why they were thinking of splitting services between Brighton and Haywards Heath. I did not think it would work."

Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames said: "This is likely to be good news for the Princess Royal. Although we do not know what will be in the consultation paper it looks like more beds and more workers."