A report today called for the reopening of a closed Sussex rail link.

It has identified the Lewes to Uckfield line as one of the prime contenders for restoration in the South-East.

The study calls on the Government's Strategic Rail Authority to reopen the link along with nine other schemes in the region.

It says there is clear demand for more rail travel, which it predicts would take traffic off the roads and prove valuable to local development.

It highlights the success of a programme of rail reopenings carried out by British Rail and local authorities in the Eighties.

But now, it says, with the creation of the SRA, there is still no national programme for rail line reopenings, with many viable schemes stuck at the planning stage.

The 36-page report, compiled by six national and regional bodies including rail groups and councils, shows the cost of bringing back tracks is, in most cases, cheaper mile for mile than building major new roads.

Campaigners fighting for the reopening of the Lewes to Uckfield line, which closed in 1969, say reopening it would persuade thousands of people to switch from road to rail.

Report author Paul Salveson, director of the Transport, Research and Information Network, said: "The railway has not only taken traffic off the roads but also provided a valuable boost to local development.

"What's more, the cost of these schemes comes in far cheaper than building new roads. What we need is for the SRA to actively promote line and station openings as part of a programme to restore missing links."

Former rail operator Connex South Central agreed to restore the Lewes-Uckfield link in its franchise bid but it lost out to Govia, which has merely pledged to carry out a case study on the line.

Lewes Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said it was "criminal" the line had not already been reopened - "It is such an obvious contender for reopening it staggers me it hasn't yet happened.

"Uckfield is one of the fastest growing communities in East Sussex and most of the track has been retained."