VICTORY! Beach hut owners are celebrating tonight after winning their fight to keep their seafront site at Felixstowe.After an intensive two-week campaign backed by The Evening Star, the 58 chalet owners who were to be evicted from Manor End as part of a multi-million pound tourism development look set to stay.

VICTORY! Beach hut owners are celebrating tonight after winning their fight to keep their seafront site at Felixstowe.

After an intensive two-week campaign backed by The Evening Star, the 58 chalet owners who were to be evicted from Manor End as part of a multi-million pound tourism development look set to stay.

Councillors at Suffolk Coastal are set to make the dramatic U-turn next week.

David Smith, cabinet member with responsibility for the project, said the authority had listened to the hut owners' views and appreciated their tremendous personal attachment to the site. Councillors had spoken to the developers and there was room for movement in the design of the scheme.

"We have a meeting of the south seafront land project task group next week and I will be proposing that we make provision to retain beach huts. I'm confident that the task group will consider the proposal positively," he said.

The hut owners - most of whom are from Ipswich - are thrilled with the solution, though they will be asked to ensure the wooden chalets are kept to a high standard to fit in with the new development for 188 homes and some leisure facilities.