Campaigners celebrated after a bid to put up a mobile phone mast near Devil's Dyke was thrown out.

Communications giant One2One wanted to build a 15-metre transmitter and base station on the Downs at the edge of Brighton and Hove.

But planners rejected the scheme after complaints from councillors and people living near the site off Devil's Dyke Road.

They were backed by the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) which also lodged an objection.

The mast would have been three times the height of an existing barn and would have towered over it, dominating the countryside.

It would have been visible from homes in Hangleton on the other side of Toads Hole Valley, which is a haven for wildlife.

Council planners used delegated powers to turn down the application on the grounds that it was in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and would intrude on to Downland.

Richard Allden, chairman of the Hove branch of CPRE said: "We are delighted that the council has seen sense in rejecting this application.

"It was clearly going to be sited in a place where it would have had a considerable impact on the beauty of the Downs."

Residents living in nearby King George VI Avenue had also opposed the mast saying it posed a possible health risk.

But a One2One spokeswoman said latest research showed there was no proven risk to health associated with mobile phone masts.