Town and parish councils have united in a bid to stop regional planners scrapping proposals to reopen a disused rail line.

Councillors in Lewes and Uckfield have condemned a decision to drop the reopening of the old line between the two towns from a transport blueprint for the South-East.

The recommendation comes from the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) in its draft regional transport strategy.

Lewes town councillor Simon Anderson said reopening the seven-mile route would relieve pressure on the main line between Brighton and Hove and London, as well as boosting the economy in places such as Seaford, Newhaven, Lewes and Uckfield.

He said: "GOSE's bizarre stance over the line's future is remote bureaucracy personified, with a real failure to grasp the transport issues of not only Lewes and its locality but a large swathe of the South-East."

Uckfield Town Council said its call for regional planners to think again was supported by almost all the parish councils along the route.

Town councillor Duncan Bennett said: "We are just one town among many that would benefit from the railway line."

Campaigners estimate reopening the line, which closed in 1969, would cost about £25 million - less than a small bypass.

Larger councils have consistently protected the line's route from development in order to make reopening the line possible.

GOSE is consulting on the draft transport strategy until May 21.