A milestone has been reached in the long-running battle to save a historic cattle market.

Council bosses and their partners have agreed to look at moving the Hailsham livestock market to another site in the area but keep the smallholders' market in the town centre.

The move follows findings by the Meat and Livestock Commission which concluded there was a continued need for the livestock market.

Cut-price supermarket chain Aldi had planned to scrap the 752-year-old market when it builds a store on the site.

The plans provoked huge protests, with hundreds of placard-waving campaigners marching in opposition.

Following the campaign, Aldi bosses pledged to amend the scheme to allow regular livestock markets to continue at the rear of the site.

Farmers around Hailsham welcomed the announcement.

However, they vowed to continue their campaign to buy back the site, after receiving pledges for more than £120,000.

In the meantime, news the livestock market looks set to continue have been applauded.

East Sussex county councillor Bob Tidy said: "The future of this historic market now looks a lot brighter.

"I am extremely pleased we have agreed to look at the options for continuing a livestock market in Hailsham and I would like to thank all the partners involved for their help and co-operation.

"We will all continue to work hard to ensure the market continues to trade for many, many years to come."

The council will now write to all market users about the latest developments and the next steps.

The partnership, which includes local authorities, the Hailsham Cattle Market Action Group, the National Farmers Union, chamber of commerce and local businesses, has agreed to increase the involvement of farmers and residents in discussions.

Ben Ellis, of Aldi Stores Limited, said: "We are delighted by this outcome and are committed to doing everything we can to assist the community in creating a state-of-the-art market.

"Aldi Stores has already agreed to provide a significant sum towards the cost of purchasing and setting up a market site and to gift the Hailsham Cattle Market Company to the local farming community to ensure the long-term future of this market is in the hands of those who rely on it.

"We have also had strong indications from a number of other agencies they could be willing to make a financial contribution to this project."

David White, of the Hailsham Market Action Group, said: "The most important thing is to secure the long-term future of the Hailsham livestock market so it's important we pursue every option open to us.

"I am pleased we now have a firm commitment the market will continue to run on its current site and have agreed to involve farmers more in the process as their input is absolutely vital."

The partnership also intends to visit the Bakewell market in the Derbyshire Dales to see how it has managed to transfer from the town centre to a new site.