The chalets were to be demolished and replaced with a caravan site

The chalets, which are in Swalecliffe, Kent, were due to be demolished to make way for a caravan site.

Mr Justice Sullivan ruled that an inspector appointed by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had been wrong to give permission for their removal.

Geoff Francis, 64, from Rainham, said: "It would be devastating to lose these places...they are a way of life."

He described how his grandfather had become the owner of one of the chalets - which are valued at between �5,000 and �8,000 - when they first built in the 1930s.

"Our chalet has gone right through our family," he said.

"My mother, Winifred, is 85 and she still uses it through the summer."

We would be desolated and wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if we lost it Chalet owner Brian Seaward

In January 2003, the site owners, Cinque Ports Leisure Ltd, applied to allow it to be used for holiday caravans.

Canterbury City Council rejected the application and declared the site a conservation area but last year, a planning inspector ruled the development could take place

Quashing that decision, Mr Justice Sullivan said: "I am satisfied the inspector's conclusions were erroneous."

Brian Seaward, from Croydon, said his own children had spent their childhood summers at Swalecliffe.

"Now my two grandchildren are continuing the tradition.

"We would be desolated and wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if we lost it."