Campaigners in Mid Sussex fear hundreds of lorry movements every day for ten years if plans for a landfill site are approved.

Protesters say there would be a refuse truck arriving or departing from Freshfield Lane Brickworks every four minutes if the project gets the go-ahead.

The Freshfield Action Group say the landfill, at Danehill, near Uckfield, would take 150,000 tonnes of refuse a year for ten years.

Cory Environmental wants to use one of two disused pits at the brickworks for waste that cannot be recycled.

But action group member Anthony McGrath said: "The roads are not designed to take heavy goods vehicles, certainly not the number they are talking about.

"It would constitute a road safety hazard to the pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders who use this rural area."

The group has distributed 3,000 leaflets to homes in Danehill, Horsted Keynes and Chelwood Gate, outlining concerns.

Members say the lorries would be an unacceptable danger to roads users, cause pollution and the landfill site could pose a danger to health.

Mr McGrath said: "The primary objective is one of traffic and the fact the local roads are narrow rural lanes and are not suitable for that level of traffic."

Cory Environmental's director of planning John Boldon said: "It is an environmentally responsible solution that will help ease West Sussex's waste problems as well as bringing significant benefits to the local community through restoration of the site back to its natural state."

The brickworks would continue operating if the plan goes ahead.

The redundant Blindfield pit would be used for landfill while the smaller Eastwood pit would be restored.

A planning application is expected to be submitted to West Sussex County Council before the end of the year.