A Romany gipsy has said the health and welfare of his family will suffer if they are evicted from protected countryside.

William Smith was giving evidence on the fourth day of a public inquiry into his bid to turn Freshfields in Lodge Lane, near Keymer, into an established gipsy site.

He and his wife Sarah have built a wood-panelled bungalow on the land, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

They told the hearing they needed a permanent address because their son Billy had a rare medical condition which needed co-ordinated treatment.

Matthew Reed, representing Mid Sussex District Council, told him: "You could move to another site in a less damaging location.

"We say you are able to go into housing and on past history it will not be a problem in the short-term if it is going to lead to Billy having a stable situation which you say he must have."

Mr Smith said his nomadic lifestyle meant he did not want to live in a house.

He said he was unaware that he had needed planning permission to build on the land.

He told the hearing in Hassocks that feuds with other gipsies prevented the family from relocating to any of the permanent travellers' sites around West Sussex.

The hearing also heard from a planning consultant who spoke on behalf of the family.

Michael Cox said the special circumstances of their case sufficiently justified the development.

He said the absence of any realistic opportunity for the family to move to another secure site and the need for stability for the children meant they should be allowed to stay.

The hearing concludes today. The planning inspector is expected to take six weeks to reach a decision.