One of Britain's best-known TV detectives has joined forces with his neighbours to stop a family home being turned into flats.

The period property in Wilbury Avenue, Hove, is the latest in a string of similar houses in the area earmarked to be bulldozed.

Actor Chris Ellison, who played Detective Chief Inspector Burnside in The Bill, fears Hove could become "a wasteland of flats".

He is backing a campaign launched by software company director Mark Brown against the proposals.

Mr Brown, 40, a naturist, fears he and his wife Janice will be stripped of their privacy in their back garden if the flats are built.

Mr Brown said his campaign against the flats was not based on the need to preserve the character of Hove and the lack of nearby services to support the scheme.

Mr Ellison, who has lived at his detached house for 18 years, said: "I am angry we could lose yet another of the area's large family homes.

"Building on that site will ruin the family character of the area and will continue Hove's decline into a wasteland of flats."

Only a street away in The Upper Drive, ex-boxer Chris Eubank wants to knock down one of his houses, also to make way for flats.

People in nearby Somerhill Avenue are waging a similar battle to Mr Brown's.

They have launched a campaign against a scheme for 108 flats on the site of writer Julie Burchill's detached Thirties home, which she has agreed to sell to developers for £1 million.

Three other properties could also be demolished in that project, proposed by Brighton-based Totem Architecture.

All the protesters are concerned about the effect such developments could have on the character of Hove, as well as the extra strain on facilities and services.

Tuesday February 03, 2004