A gipsy family's hopes of settling down for life on a private plot of land were dashed when they were given six months to get out.

Father-of-four Saillus Lee wanted to break with years of family tradition by setting up a permanent caravan, mobile home and toilet at his land close to Offham, near Lewes.

But Lewes District Council's northern area planning committee has ordered the site to be cleared to protect the environment.

Councillors also decided to prosecute Mr Lee for laying a hard surface on his land, which is in an area of natural beauty.

Mr Lee, 35, today vowed to appeal and insisted he was not going anywhere.

He warned he would have to be physically dragged from his home.

His land is in a protected area where building is restricted and gipsy sites are banned.

The family has lived there since last September and the children attend local schools.

Councillors spent almost two hours debating the case before reaching a unanimous decision to launch an enforcement action and a prosecution.

Mr Lee, whose wife suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, said: "Everything has gone against me. I really feel it's unfair. I only laid the hard surface because it was so mucky.

"It was virtually impossible to live there. It was for the safety of my kids.

"My feeling is that their minds were made up before they walked into the room."

Council planning and environment director Lindsay Frost said they had carefully considered the family's personal circumstances before ruling they did not override planning regulations.

He added that prosecution was felt to be in the public interest and legal action was being taken because Mr Lee had laid a hard surface despite being warned not to carry out further work.