By Tom Macdougall

Copyright bbc

“The greenbelt means a lot to me as I grew up around that area and so did all my friends and families from the area,” said Game of Thrones star Bean.

“You have to have greenery, it’s a calming influence and good for your health and mind.

“If you haven’t got that space around you, mentally and psychologically, it is damaging – you become insular, blinkered, and very claustrophobic.”

He praised campaigners for their “passion and professionalism” in trying to protect the land.

“It is incredible how the residents have brought themselves together and how they have managed to get all this armour around them in such a short space of time,” he said.

“It shows they mean business – we mean business – and we are not letting it go like that.

“We are not going to stop and we will see this through.”

Campaigner Cheryl Hague said: “We are delighted to have Sean’s support on this crucial campaign and will carry on this fight with the planning inspector meetings, which will be held next week.”