Councillors threatening to bulldoze Sir Paul McCartney's hideaway lodge have told the Beatles legend he can let it be - for now.

A decision on whether to demolish the two-bedroom wooden lodge, highly prized by McCartney because of its seclusion, was due to be taken by Rother District Council's planning committee yesterday.

But after a lengthy debate councillors decided to defer the decision to seek further legal advice.

Head of planning Frank Rallings said: "We're not just doing this because of who he (McCartney) is, we would do it for anyone because we want to get the decision right."

The lodge, on McCartney's 933-acre estate on Woodlands Farm, Brede Lane, Peasmarsh, is under threat because it was built without planning permission. The council insists it does not fit in with the surrounding area.

McCartney, 64, was ordered to demolish the lodge, which also has a gym inside it, in January after retrospective planning permission was refused.

He then offered to tear down a three-bedroom house, named Beanacres, and two barns on the estate if he was allowed to keep the lodge.

However council officials refused the offer and had been expected to finalise the lodge's demolition at yesterday's meeting.

Mr Rallings said: "There was a lot of debate both in favour and against the lodge. There was a lot of too-ing and fro-ing by councillors but in the end they decided they could not reach a decision without further advice from our legal team.

"There are other issues to be considered surrounding Beanacres and the other two agricultural barns on his land. The bottom line is we want to get this right.

"There are a lot of other planning applications which are similar to this but which don't get the same publicity and we deal with them all in the same way."

Councillors visited the lodge last week to see what it looked like and inspect other parts of the estate.

McCartney said he was desperate to keep the lodge because of the "privacy, seclusion and security" it gave him and his family.

It is understood Sir Paul's estranged wife Heather Mills McCartney spent periods staying in the lodge after the couple's break-up because of the privacy it offered.

It is away from the main house, which has a public footpath running close to the front door.

The council's planning committee is expected to make a decision on the lodge on November 9.