Brighton and Hove Albion fans have accused a council of ignoring residents' views on plans for a new stadium.

Lewes District Council planning officers are expected to object to Albion's proposals for a new stadium at Falmer at a meeting on Tuesday.

They will recommend that councillors tell Brighton and Hove City Council they are opposed to the scheme on the grounds it is out of keeping with national policy on development in areas of outstanding natural beauty.

The club wants to build a £44 million stadium at Falmer and has submitted identical plans for stadia north and south of Village Way.

The planning department at Lewes received one objection, from Falmer Parish Council, and two letters of support.

Individual councillors received many more letters for and against.

However, Seagulls fans backing the new stadium site under the Falmer for All campaign said they had hundreds of supporters in the Lewes district.

They accused the planning department of ignoring residents by only accepting the objection made by Falmer Parish Council and not asking for the views of its own residents.

A spokesman for Falmer for All said: "Bearing in mind we have fans across Seaford, Peacehaven and Lewes and all we are hearing from them is that they are behind the Falmer site, it seems strange the district council's planners haven't taken that into consideration."

Planning officers at Lewes said they have only considered planning issues and say the analysis used to rule out alternative sites, in particular Shoreham which they favour, are flawed because they relied on outdated information.

A spokesman for Lewes District Council said: "Part of the planning officers' position here is there should be an up-to-date analysis of alternative sites.

"The analysis of the other sites has been inadequate. The site at Falmer on the south side has never been part of a site analysis but it lies in the boundaries of the planned national park."

Albion chief executive Martin Perry said district councillors were talking "nonsense". He said alternative sites proposed would be worse places for a stadium now than when they were first looked at. He said: "What they don't seem to have taken into account are the benefits of a stadium at Falmer."

For all the latest plus background to the stadium saga see our Local Issues section.