Residents have slammed a “depressing” pile of rubbish left in a seafront shelter for weeks making the area look “neglected”.

Hove resident Anna said she reported rubbish piled up in a shelter near the King Alfred Leisure Centre six weeks ago – but the “dangerous” mountain of waste was still there earlier this week.

Now there are renewed calls for the rubbish to be removed as the waste “makes the area feel neglected”.

Anna, 50, says she sees the rubbish almost daily as she walks from her home near Hove Lagoon and along the seafront.

She said: “Six weeks ago there was a sign on it saying ‘this isn’t rubbish’ – I don’t think that’s fair anymore.

“It’s depressing. It seems like whoever is leaving the rubbish isn’t adhering to the rules.

“It’s dangerous while it's there. It feels neglected and it’s really hard to look past it.”

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Anna says she first reported the rubbish to Brighton and Hove Council’s CityClean service at the end of March but that only a fraction of it has since been removed.

A spokesman for the council said the waste appeared to be someone’s belonging and that the person responsible had until next week to remove it – or else it will remove it for them.

Cllr Tim Rowkin said: “Keeping our seafront area looking clean and tidy is a real priority for this council, and we share residents’ frustration when people fly-tip or leave belongings in public spaces.

“Our officers have been and cleared some of the boxes left in this shelter but while doing so they found an address attached to one of the boxes and have been trying to contact someone at that address as this does seem to be someone’s belongings rather than fly-tipped waste.

“It obviously cannot stay where it is, however, so our team has issued a collection notice informing the owner they have until next week to clear it, or our team will return on Friday and remove the items.”