Council chiefs have angrily dismissed claims they are threatening local farmers' livelihoods by helping foreign competitors instead.

Sussex farmers demonstrated against a three-day French market in Haywards Heath over the weekend by driving tractors around the town.

Angered by the French ban on British beef, local farmers and their families also waved placards with the message "Buy British Food" and "British Farmers - use them or lose them".

The Broadway, Haywards Heath, was closed to traffic on Friday, Saturday and Sunday while visitors from France sold their wares.

Local farmers are furious that council chiefs supported the market, part of Haywards Heath Town Week, at a time when British farming is under pressure.

Wivelsfield beef farmer Carola Godman Law said: "We felt that public awareness of the problems of farming had rather ebbed.

"It was an excellent PR exercise. The public all said they would much rather have a well-advertised local farmers' market than a French market."

Mid Sussex District Council organises and promotes separate markets in Haywards Heath, which are limited to producers from Sussex and neighbouring counties. The local markets are held in a car park, whereas a town centre road was closed for three days for the French market.

NFU spokeswoman Annie Payne said: "This makes it seem that local government feels the French market is more important than their own farmers' market."

A district council spokeswoman said: "The organisers applied to us for a road closure and we have to have very good reasons to refuse it. We can't just turn people down because they are French. The French market takes place once a year but the local farmers' market is monthly. We've bent over backwards to organise the farmers' market, trying to do something to help our local farmers.

"To have them turn round and say they're not happy with even that is a little disappointing. To be honest, we are getting a bit fed up with it.

"I'm sure there are a lot of farmers and local producers who are very supportive of it and it's just a minority who are being critical.

"All of them I spoke to after the first local market last month were very pleased and quite a lot of them sold out."

Carole Preston, clerk to Haywards Heath Town Council, said the French market was a joint venture between the town and district councils.

"Most of the people at the French market were not selling food. We all support British farmers. The town council has campaigned to have the local farmers' market in Haywards Heath."