CAMPAIGNERS fighting to halt supermarket giant Tesco building a £40m superstore look to have claimed victory - after councillors dramatically threw out the application.

More than 400 members of the public attended a marathon four hour planning meeting this afternoon at which the proposed store, in Whitby, North Yorkshire, was debated.

Almost 4,000 people had signed a petition objecting to Tesco developing the land owned by a group of nuns.

Helen Barker, of the campaign group Whitby Residents Against Tesco (Wrats), called it a "victory for common sense".

The meeting of Scarborough Borough Council's planning committee was held at a college to accommodate the large crowd.

After much deliberation, councillors backed the planning officers' recommendations and rejected the plans, by 11 votes to two, sparking jubilant scenes among protestors.

Objectors said the plans would put local shopkeepers out of business and spoil the character of the seaside resort.

The application also included plans for 93 affordable homes and a petrol station, at High Stakesby, on the edge of the town.

Mrs Barker said: "We are absolutely ecstatic, the right decision has been made."

* Planners also considered two other applications from supermarket companies at the meeting. A proposal to extend the existing Co-Operative store was approved. Plans for a Sainsbury's store were also approved, subject to 25 conditions, despite being recommended for refusal by planning officers.