More than two hours of debate, peppered by several angry interventions from the public, have failed to convince senior councillors to cap the extra number of new homes in the district to 10,000.

Approximately 100 residents packed into the council chamber at Forde House, Newton Abbot, on Tuesday keen to press the case for restricting growth in the next 20 years.

Consultants and council officers had recommended 12,400 new houses but members of the authority's overview and scrutiny committee had challenged the calculations and come up with 10,000.

Members of the executive committee heard from residents, among them David Boxall, of Abbotskerswell, who asked: 'Does the committee appreciate it is committing to build a community the size of Abbotskerswell every 15 months for the next 20 years?'