A gipsy who faced eviction when his father died has won a three-year battle to keep his mobile home in the countryside.

Edward Russell has been fighting to stay on an area of farmland and won support from neighbouring residents.

They helped persuade Wealden Council not to turn him off the plot where gipsies have lived for more than 50 years.

His father, also called Edward Russell, lived on the site illegally for many years before finally winning council permission to stay in December 1994.

But that permission ended when his father died and council officers had recommended it not be passed on to the son because it was outside the boundaries laid down for development in the local plan.

Since then, the council has received more than 50 letters from residents supporting Mr Russell's request to stay tucked away behind a former pottery workshop at Littley Hackhurst Farm, Lower Dicker, on the A22 near Hailsham.

Mr Russell and his wife, Gina, said they were pleased with the decision.

He said: "I would like to thank the local residents for their support. The decision is a weight off our shoulders and we are very happy with the outcome."

"Now we just want to live here in peace and get on with our day-to-day lives."

To win his case, Mr Russell had to prove his gipsy status and told planners he had never lived in a house or attended school and had always had a nomadic lifestyle.

Council implementation and enforcement officer David Phillips said: "As a result of the letters and the confirmation of Mr Russell's gipsy status, we have decided his case is one which needs to be considered as an exception to normal policy."

The couple and their two children will be allowed to stay at Little Hackhurst Farm on condition there is only one caravan on the site and it is only used for residential purposes.

Mr Russell still has to sign a legal agreement.