More than 30 campaigners, two goats and a pony gathered outside council offices last night to protest at plans to build hundreds of homes in a Sussex village.

The group met councillors arriving for a Horsham Council meeting.

Protesters are angry at the possibility that 700 new homes could be built in the parish of Rusper, in line with West Sussex County Council demands to build more houses.

Horsham Council is considering a series of options on sites to place the homes and the Rusper scheme has been called the Crawley Option.

Campaigners say the name is misleading as the homes would be built in Rusper, which is part of the strategic gap between Crawley and Horsham.

Keep Rusper Green chairman Alan Rice said the village currently had only 600 homes and the roads network would be unable to cope with extra traffic generated by any new development.

He said residents were also determined to keep Rusper's village community and lifestyle alive.

He said: "We brought along the animals to raise awareness of our village status and it caught people's attention.

"We had quite a favourable response, both from councillors going into their meeting and from passers by who understood our concerns."

Keep Rusper Green will be formally writing to the district council and the county to raise its concerns about the Crawley Option and vows to fight it all the way.

Mr Rice said: "Another 700 homes is the equivalent of a new development the size of Southwater and there is simply no way the area would be able to cope with the traffic without a large new bypass.

"As we have seen with the Billingshurst bypass, when a new road gets built, more houses are built alongside it. Before we know it we will see the gap between Horsham and Crawley lost and the problems start all over again."

"We shall be telling them they will be creating a Crawsham. The sprawl from London would be coming through to Crawley and Horsham. If that happened, Crawley could then become a city."

The main development proposals cover 86 hectares at Rusper and 23 at neighbouring Faygate.

Proposals to develop land west of Horsham, involving Christ's Hospital and Broadbridge Heath, could be scrapped.

The district council is expected to make a final decision on extra homes when it publishes its local plan next year.