Protesters fighting plans for 3,000 new homes in Mid Sussex took their concern to the town hall last night.

They converged on Crawley Town Hall to object to the prospect of a mini-town springing up on their doorstep.

The group sat in on the meeting in the hope councillors would take a tough stance on the issue.

Neighbouring Horsham has earmarked land on the Crawley boundary at Tilgate as a possible site for 3,000 houses.

But people living nearby fear it will wreck the countryside gap between the towns and create one big town.

They have christened it Crawsham, a mix of Crawley and Horsham.

The scheme is so large that if it ever reached the planning stage it would almost certainly need Government approval.

But those taking part in the six-hour vigil at the Crawley Council meeting last night did not get what they wanted.

Councillors agreed a mild response to Horsham's proposal, calling it "premature".

The group had hoped the council might say no to the development before discussions got too far advanced.

Henry Vatcher, of Rectory lane, Ifield, said: "We will carry on. We did want them to state something much stronger. I think them calling it premature was a convenient dismissal."

Councillors said they had to keep an open mind and pointed out that no definite proposal had yet been put forward.

Councillor Doug Murdoch said: "It is quite clear there is a debate to be had. It has to be debated when all options have to be considered."