Chelsea Football Club will not be able to play matches at Twickenham Stadium when their current ground is being redeveloped, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) has said.

Chelsea will leave Stamford Bridge stadium for up to three years while their new 60,000-seater stadium is constructed on the same site.

Twickenham Stadium had been considered as a temporary home for the west London club, but a RFU spokesman said this would not happen.

Liberal Democrat councillors for the St Margarets and north Twickenham ward thanked the RFU for their decision, after they claimed Chelsea approached the body for permission.

Councillor Alexander Ehmann, the local party's deputy leader, said: "Most local residents accept the challenges and opportunities that come with living next to a national sporting centre like Twickenham stadium, but they rightly felt that the imposition of football fixtures would have been a step too far.”

Cllr Ehmann said he and his colleagues, Ben Khosa and Geoff Acton, campaigned for two years to block Chelsea's temporary relocation to Twickenham.

Wembley Stadium is another option for Chelsea, but Tottenham Hotspur have been given the option to temporarily relocate for the 2017/18 Premier League season.

A spokesman for Brentford FC said he was not aware of any formal discussions around using the club’s ground, Griffin Park, as a temporary home.