Protesters are celebrating their third victory against developers who they say want to "shoehorn" new homes behind their properties.

Nine eco-homes proposed for land behind Prince's Road, Brighton, were rejected by planning chiefs at Brighton and Hove City Council.

They said the plans, which had attracted 200 letters of opposition, were too much for the area.

The planning officials said the three-storey town houses were too overbearing and would look out of place, increase parking problems and lead to loss of privacy.

The unsuccessful plans were Hove-based Carelet's third attempt to apply for permission to build on the site.

The scheme involved a lift and staircase to reach the homes two storeys below road level, a single parking space dedicated to a community car scheme and sustainable features such as recycle bin areas, bike storage and rainwater- harvesting systems.

The first application was for a block of 31 flats and attracted more than 300 letters of objection and banner-wielding protests outside the town hall.

The second, which was also refused, was for a slightly reduced version of the first with 21 flats.

Even though the third set of plans were vastly reduced from the initial ideas and involved only nine terraced houses, residents said they were still too big for the site.

They also said the "green lung"

area was crucial after permission was given for a waste transfer station to be built 50m away.

Rob Stephens, chairman of the Roundhill Residents Association, said members were "jubilant"

about the news. He said: "We are delighted.

"Of course, the battle isn't over - I can't imagine the developer who bought the land is going to give up.

"But we have gone from something in excess of 30 dwellings to nine and still planning officers are saying it is an over-development.

"We can hope only a single dwelling will end up there."

Carelet were unavailable for comment.