Brighton and Hove City Council railroaded through plans for the Falmer stadium, Lewes MP Norman Baker has told the public inquiry into the project.

Mr Baker said Falmer was the wrong location and Albion had been badly advised by the council.

He said a referendum had been staged to gather "propaganda ammunition" and branded the council-sponsored ballot a "deeply cynical exercise".

Mr Baker told the 19th day of the Hove Town Hall hearing that the club had been left with no option but to try to build the proposed 22,000-seat stadium at Village Way North.

He said: "The council, in its enthusiasm to find a new home for the Albion, has tried to railroad through this site at Falmer and shut down any discussion of alternative sites."

Falmer county councillor David Neighbour told the inquiry that voters had been "misled" on alternative sites.

Jonathan Clay, representing the club, said Mr Baker was not in a position to claim there were defects or omissions in its case.

He said the alternatives had been examined on three separate occasions and Falmer was the only realistic site.

Mary Macpherson, representing the city council, said the stadium was in the council's new local plan - the authority's planning blueprint for the next ten years - which had gone through three rounds of consultation.

In other evidence, Mr Baker said the stadium would bring limited economic benefits, and the scheme clashed with Government guidelines for development in areas of outstanding natural beauty and national parks.

The inquiry is expected to last until at least June 6.

Planning inspector John Collyer will send his report and recommendations to the Government later in the summer.

A final decision is not expected until the autumn.