A disabled woman has won the first round of a legal battle which could save dozens of Sussex post offices.

Judy Brown has been granted permission to seek a judicial review of decisions made by ministers and the Post Office to axe thousands of branches across the country.

Mrs Brown, from Hastings, East Sussex, claims the closures discriminate against her and other disabled people.

The review covers her own Old Town branch in Hastings.

She said that Business Secretary John Hutton - now overseeing the controversial closure programme of 2,500 post offices - acted unlawfully by exempting the Post Office from laws requiring public bodies to promote equality for the disabled.

Mr Justice Davis at the High Court in London said there were forceful arguments against Mrs Brown's case, but he had "with some reluctance" decided to grant permission on the basis that she had "just about enough" grounds for argument.

The court heard Mrs Brown, of Rock-a- Nore Road, who is in her 60s, uses Old Town for banking, paying bills, shopping, posting letters and sending presents to her grandchildren. She is unable to visit more distant post offices.

She hopes Old Town PO will be saved but at stake in the legal fight is a decision to remove the Royal Mail from tens of thousands of public bodies subject to specific anti-discrimination legislation, a move she says is a clear violation of disability rights.

Elisabeth Laing QC, for Mrs Brown, said there was "no evidence" the Government had considered its duties to comply with the rules in its "consultation process".

The judge said massive public interest in the closures was inevitable because of the pivotal role post offices play in the community.

But he said this had to be put in the context of decision makers who "took the view something has to be done when the post office loses up to £4 million a week".