UPDATE: Protestors at Lewes Road Community Garden have stopped developers moving onto the site.

Contractors arrived this morning to begin work at the site of the former petrol station in Brighton.

But a small number of protestors, who have been ordered to leave the site, sat in front of the digger and refused to allow it through the garden’s gates.

Click here for a picture gallery from this morning's standoff.

After a short stand-off between the two groups, the contractors loaded the digger back onto a trailer while they waited for further instructions from developer Alburn Minos, which has planning permission to build seven flats and two retail units at the site.

One protestor called Joe said: “We have won the first battle. This is a little victory. This gives us a bit more time to organise more people and make more plans.

"This shows that a few people can make a difference and will continue to do so.”

Police officers attended the incident but no arrests were made.