Connection refused in ssh tunnel to apache forward proxy setup - apache

Question

I am trying to setup a private forward proxy in a small server. I mean to use it during a conference to tunnel my internet access through an ssh tunnel to the proxy server.
So I created a virtual host inside apache-2.2 running the proxy, the proxy_http and the proxy_connect module.
I use this configuration:
<VirtualHost localhost:8080>
ServerAdmin xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ServerName yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/proxy-error_log
CustomLog /var/log/apache2/proxy-access_log combined
<IfModule mod_proxy.c>
ProxyRequests On
<Proxy *>
# deny access to all IP addresses except localhost
Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from 127.0.0.1
</Proxy>
# The following is my preference. Your mileage may vary.
ProxyVia Block
## allow SSL proxy
AllowCONNECT 443
</IfModule>
</VirtualHost>
After restarting apache I create a tunnel from client to server:
#> ssh -L8080:localhost:8080 <server address>
and try to access the internet through that tunnel:
#> links -http-proxy localhost:8080 http://www.linux.org
I would expect to see the requested page. Instead a get a "connection refused" error. In the shell holding open the ssh tunnel I get this:
channel 3: open failed: connect failed: Connection refused
Anyone got an idea why this connection is refused ?