Hove's image as Brighton's more genteel sister is about to get raunchy.

A new adult boutique selling upmarket erotic goods is about to open.

A banner above the new Taboo store in Blatchington Road declares: “Hove is about to get sexy.”

Owner Tim Robinson has given the shop a £50,000 refit ahead of its opening on January 18.

He already runs a Taboo boutique in Surrey Street, Brighton, and Lust at Gardner Street in the city centre.

The new Hove store replaces the former Ignition sex shop which closed in May. (09) Ignition raised eyebrows when it first opened in 2003.

Residents feared Hove's first sex shop would attract the wrong sort of people to a street used daily by parents walking their children to nearby schools.

But opposition died down after it changed wording on its front window.

The new Taboo has been given a cautious welcome by residents.

Mr Richardson, 49, said he has turned the property form a traditional sex shop into an upmarket adult boutique.

He said: "The fact that the shop already had a licence was a factor in us choosing the site.

"We have spent a huge amount of money on refurbishing the shop and we are a completely different style to what was previously there.

"We already have an award-winning shop in Brighton and we see ourselves as a high end adult boutique, not a sex shop."

He said he has plans to open more shops in other parts of the country over the next year.

Mr Richardson added: "There is a large demand for the type of products we stock.

"Hove has a large catchment area and the nearest shop for them to visit would be Taboo in Surrey Street.

"We thought that a more local shop for our customers who we know already travel in from Hove and Portslade would be more convenient for them.”