Defiant travellers' children staged a sit-in on caravan tow bars to stop bailiffs evicting an illegal camp.

The youngsters beat the bailiffs by crowding around their mobile homes, chanting: "We shall not, we shall not be moved."

Laxley Pennant and Lawrence Boon, owners of the site at Benfield Valley Golf Course, at Hangleton, had to call off the eviction.

Mr Pennant said: "We called it off because the kids were in the frontline. Who is going to tow a caravan away when there is a kid underneath?

"There was a lot of resistance. If they do this again we will never get rid of them. We will have to re-think our strategy."

He said police had refused to let bailiffs tow caravans off the site and on to nearby Hangleton Lane, adding: "We would have had nowhere to take the vans."

Other travellers, in a bid to thwart the evicition, put crockery on tables knowing that bailiffs and landowners could be liable for any breakages.

The bailiffs gave up and returned to their cars to the delight of the group of travellers and their protesting children.

The travellers have angered the landowners and neighbouring residents, who accused them of heaping piles of rubbish on the site in West Hove.

Illegal camps in Brighton and Hove have become a major source of tension, with residents blaming travellers for despoiling parks and depriving communities of the right to enjoy public land.

However, the latest traveller group blamed another set of travellers for leaving the mess and said it was unfair to blame all travellers for the actions of a few. But they were victorious about defeating the bailiffs.

One traveller called Irene said: "The kids have won us another week here. We are proud of them."

As the bailiffs attempted to remove the first of 30 caravans from the site, the children sprang into action.

One of the travellers, Jim Kelly, 66, claimed the travellers had been given permission to stay.

He said: "We have been here for two weeks. The man who owned it came down and said we could stay for six months. There has been a lot of fly-tipping by other travellers and we are getting the blame."

Mr Boon said: "No owner said they could be here. We do not want them here."

Mr Boon and Mr Pennant said two eviction notices had been served on the travellers and they had been warned the bailiffs were coming.

Councillor Dawn Barnett, Brighton and Hove City Councillor for Hangleton and Knoll, said she had received complaints from residents about Greenleas Park, which runs in to the golf course, being left in a mess.

She said: "My residents are entitled to use that park but one of the parents told me the swings were covered in excrement. We have called the police out three times.

"The travellers that were here before caused no problem. Look at the rubbish this lot have made. It is going to cost thousands to clear up."

Mr Boon and Mr Pennant said they would not give up until the travellers were gone and would plan another eviction.