A school has missed out on a £1 million windfall after supermarket giant Tesco was refused permission to expand on to a playing field.

Crawley Council turned down the application by Tesco to extend its store in Hazelwick Avenue, Crawley, into the adjoining field at Hazelwick School.

The school planned to use the money from the sale to improve drainage in its remaining fields and to provide floodlit all-weather pitches, a multi-games area and a new library and technology block.

Head teacher Gordon Parry said the sale would have meant a lot for the school.

He said: "We need investment to enable the school to adapt to changes in the curriculum.

"The school has lost this chance to build a new technology block and will have to investigate other ways to find the money."

He said the school had been criticised twice by the Office for Standards in Education because its library was too small.

He added: "We are not defeated. The battle is lost, not the war. We will have to look at other means to develop the school."

Crawley's development control committee refused the Tesco application after deciding there was no need for a retail development away from the town centre.

Councillors said it would take trade away from the town centre and nearby shopping parades.

Tesco wanted to expand on 3.2 hectares, of which 0.72 hectares formed part of the school playing field.