A colony of dormice are to be given five-star treatment by road developers in Mid Sussex.

There are believed to be no more than 20 rodents living in Anscombe Wood, near Haywards Heath, but developers who want to build a multi-million pound relief road around the town will have to cater to their every whim.

Nesting boxes and tunnels or bridges are expected to be built for the dormice, which are a protected species. It is a criminal offence to destroy or damage the breeding or resting place of a dormouse.

About half of Anscombe Wood is expected to be destroyed when the relief road is built and a spokeswoman for Mid Sussex District Council said the building would not be stopped by the rodents.

Top soil in the wood, which includes seeds and plants and other food for the animals, is to be moved to another area near the road.

Nesting boxes will be put in place as well as tunnels or bridges to enable the doormice to cross the road which will divide the wood.

The report included sections on protecting other species in the wood, including badgers, deer, fungi, and amphibians.

The relief road was given the green light by the Government last month, ending ten years of waiting by residents.

The agreement is part of a deal which includes 225 houses being built on land south of the former St Francis Hospital.

It was first proposed by the National Health Service Executive which applied to build the homes on land it owned there.

Mid Sussex District Council's development and transport committee agreed the plan but it was thrown into question when in April 2001 the Government's planning minister Nick Raynsford called the application in because the houses were to be built on a greenfield site.

After a public inquiry in September a 75-page report was submitted to Mr Prescott and he backed the plan last month.