National park campaigners have welcomed the Government's decision to throw out plans to build linked bypasses around Hastings and Bexhill.

The South Downs Campaign said the bypasses would have led to increased traffic on roads in the Downs and more pressure for road building in the new national park.

Campaign officer Chris Todd said: "The Government's decision is very welcome. It is a victory for common sense and the environment.

"Despite the bypasses around Bexhill and Hastings, the knock-on effects would have been to significantly increase traffic on the A27, which passes through, or close by, large tracts of the Downs."