An authority which dumped 300 lorry-loads of chalk to keep travellers and fly-tippers out of a protected field has been told the mounds are illegal.

Sussex Downs Conservation Board has been introducing thousands of tons of clay in piles on Telscombe Tye over the past year.

The organisation, which manages the Tye on behalf of landowners Telscombe Town Council, was wrongly told that planning permission was not needed.

When it was discovered this was not the case, Telscombe Town Council applied for retrospective permission to East Sussex County Council but was refused on Wednesday.

The county council is now taking action to force the board to remove the piles - known as bunds.

Campaigners who angrily opposed the introduction of the bunds were celebrating today.

Rick McKellar, who lives near the Tye and who complained about the bunds to the county council, said: "They will have to bring machines in and pick up every bit of chalk and waste they have dumped.

"There were about 300 lorry loads dumped which must be about 4,000-odd tonnes.

"I blame the Downs Conservation Board.

"They are the people to blame and Telscombe Town Council and they should pay to have it removed."

Mr McKellar, who builds swimming pools, said individual councillors should pay for the chalk removal and not the council as a body, which is funded by council tax payers.

The bunds have been a controversial addition to the Tye since the board was employed by the town council to manage the site.

Many residents were angry when they discovered the chalk being dumped by contractors with building waste, including concrete, window frames and plastic pipes - known as 'non-inert' waste.

Residents wrote 136 letters of objection to the county council.

The Tye is within an area designated as archaeologically sensitive and an area of outstanding natural beauty.

A county council report following complaints by residents said: "The bunds affect the character and qualities of the open downland landscape and therefore represent inappropriate development in this sensitive area."

It went on: "The bunds contain non-inert waste materials that look unsightly and may be hazardous to users of the Tye."

Alan Baker, who has lived opposite the Tye for more than 20 years, said: "It's fantastic. I'm totally amazed it has been refused. I didn't think they would take notice of us."

Simon Culpin, of the conservation board, said: "We are trying to work with the authorities to get the best and most common sense, practical way forward."

He said Lewes District Council told the board planning permission was not needed if the board dug a trench and then used the materials from that trench to create a bund.

However, he said once the board began shipping in waste material and chalk to create a bund, permission was needed and had not been sought.

Kathleen Verrall, clerk of Telscombe Town Council said the council was disappointed by the decision but did not want to comment further.