A battling pensioner is celebrating after taking on the might of a multinational oil giant - and coming out on top.

Councillor Peter Willows started fighting when Esso said it planned to sell alcohol at its garage next to Hove railway station.

The 70-year-old member for Hangleton branded the idea a "cocktail of death" and vowed to voice his objections when the application came before city licensing magistrates today.

He maintained there was no need for Esso to sell alcohol as there was a pub and an off-licence within a few hundred yards of the garage in Station Approach, saying: "Encouraging people to fill up their cars with petrol and then giving them the chance to buy booze is a cocktail of death.

"Every year the police try to get across the message that drinking and driving costs lives.

"How can that be effective when you are offering motorists the chance to buy alcohol every time they fill up at the petrol pumps?"

Now his argument appears to have won the day. Esso withdrew its application at the last minute.

Coun Willows said: "I'm as pleased as punch. I can't believe an old age pensioner like me can take on probably one of the most powerful companies in the world and get them to back down.

"When I said I was going to fight this all my friends and colleagues told me they'd send a top QC down and I would be eaten for breakfast.

"I've heard this is the first time they've been opposed."

Esso confirmed the application had been withdrawn but denied it had anything to do with Coun Willows' objection.

A spokeswoman said: "We looked again at the sites we have throughout the UK and, along with three other sites, decided to withdraw the application.

"Given its location, at the current time we have decided that it is not appropriate to sell alcohol at this site, although we are not ruling out reinvestigating if circumstances change."

Esso previously said the application was a response to customer demand.