David Tufnell wanted to do his bit for the environment and use sunlight to produce hot water for his home.

Now planners in Lewes have told him he could not fit solar panels to the roof of his Grange Road home because it was in a conservation area.

The three linked panels would have produced enough energy for all his hot water in summer, and most of it in the winter.

Lewes District Council refused planning permission, which Mr Tufnell needed because of rules intended to protect the town centre conservation area.

He said the panels, which link together as a single 9ft by 4ft rectangle, would have looked no different from sloping windows cut into roofs of other houses nearby.

He said: "We have mixed architecture in our road anyway. Mine is not a listed building but we are in a conservation area.

"To go green there costs. We are prepared to meet the financial cost of putting them in.

"Obviously, there's a visual cost and this is a cost I think society ought to pick up occasionally."

Fellow Lewes resident Pamela Lady Wedgwood recently had to take a different style of solar panel off the roof of her home in St Anne's Crescent because it was in a conservation area.

She said: "I think solar energy panels should be regarded as a necessity, in the same way that in the 19th Century chimneys were. I think everybody should have them."

The council said it would be happy to discuss the panels with Mr Tufnell.

Planning officer Andrew Hill said: "We support solar panels, as long as they are not detrimental to the special character and appearance of conservation areas.

"The technology is constantly evolving and we are hopeful for designs that are more sympathetic to the surrounding character."