THE CHAMPAGNE corks were popping after campaigners won their battle to save a popular watering hole from the wreckers' ball.

Regulars at The Saints pub broke open a bottle of bubbly after planning bosses threw out a controversial scheme to knock it down and build a block of flats on the site.

Delighted drinkers staged an impromptu victory party outside the pub in Millbrook, Southampton, when they heard the news.

Campaign co-ordinator Larry Sinnott told the Daily Echo: "We are really pleased that the council has taken a stance.

"We are all over the moon. It is very nice to see. You have to have these sorts of amenities for the local community. The next stage is to persuade the council not to sell the freehold of the land."

Campaigners battling to save the threatened pub - described as the hub of the community by locals - had been living under a cloud since owner Enterprise Inns announced it was planning to knock down the building and put up a block of 34 flats.

Regulars at The Saints, the only remaining pub in western Millbrook, launched an impassioned campaign to save their favourite watering hole.

They formed a Save Our Saints committee, collected a petition opposing the plans containing around 2,000 signatures and even received

e-mailed messages of support from fans of south coast rivals Pompey on the campaign website.

One regular at the pub on the corner of Kendal Avenue and Mansel Road West even staged a rooftop protest to voice his anger about the proposals.

Yesterday, members of the city council's planning and rights of way panel heard regulars lining up to defend their local and demanding planners listen to their concerns.

Philip Gill, 42, who is a tenant at the pub, told members: "If this planning application goes ahead, the decision will result in myself and two other tenants becoming homeless."

Members of the planning committee voted unanimously not to allow the application. They cited possible parking and traffic problems with the development and vowed to look into whether the pub was protected under council rules which try to ensure community facilities are available in local areas.