Plans to replace a Victorian school where children are taught in 30-year-old temporary classrooms have moved a step closer.

East Sussex County Council has decided a gift of land is suitable to build new premises for Wivelsfield Primary School.

It will now seek the £1.75 million funding needed for the scheme, which could be completed within three years.

Joan Penfold, 87, donated a three-acre site in Wivelsfield, between Downsview Drive and North Common Road, to the primary school in November after she heard about the cramped conditions pupils were having to endure.

The school has outgrown its half-acre site in Church Lane, where more than half the 125 pupils are taught in temporary mobile classrooms that have been on the site for 34 years.

Mrs Penfold, who lived in the village for 22 years but has now moved to Graveley Lane, Lindfield, decided she wanted to help.

The Penfold Trust, of which she is a major shareholder, offered the land to the council for free.

Headteacher Rita Tipple said: "We are delighted the offer has been accepted. This means we potentially have a site for a new school, which is a step forward.

"We would like to thank the trust for its kindness."

The council is negotiating the conditions of transfer before it embarks on raising funds but parents have been told the new school is one of its priorities.

Some funding for the project is expected to come from the sale of the old site.

Journalist Keith Murray, who has a daughter at the school, said the move should make the school eligible for government funding.

He said: "The new school will be part of the community and within walking distance for many of the children, unlike the present facilities."

Councillor Rupert Simmons, lead Cabinet member for education, said: "I would like to thank the Penfold Trust for this magnificent gesture.

"However, in accepting its offer, we cannot at this stage commit the county council to building the school within a set time.

"We will also want to keep open the possibility of other sites in the village in light of the current review of the Local Plan."