A DJ and a former EastEnders actress have been urged by council bosses to get their act together and sell off new homes.

Hastings Borough Council says a group of upmarket town houses are still empty, despite having been finished for more than 18 months.

The homes were built by Phoenix Trinity, a property development company whose co-directors at the time the houses were finished included DJ Danny Rampling and Charlotte Avery.

Rampling, a club DJ and former BBC Radio 1 and Kiss FM broadcaster, made his name being one of the top spearheaders of the dance music rave scene in the UK in the late 1980s.

He was also the mastermind behind adopting the Smiley Face logo to represent the movement.

Avery played Tina Stuart in EastEnders, the girlfriend of gangster Johnny Allen.

The ten houses are close to Warrior Square.

Lead member for regeneration at the council, Peter Chowney, said: “We are trying hard to improve the quality of the town. “For some time we have pursued owners of shabby buildings through our ‘grotbuster’ initiative, and we are also taking action against the owners of long-term empty properties.

“These particular properties were built to a high, eco-friendly specification.

“But it is frustrating that, more than 18 months after they were finished, they remain empty, and so we are calling on the owners to put them on the market now.

“Hastings continues to get great publicity nationally, and rightly so, it is a fantastic place to live. I have no doubt at all that these houses will be snapped up when they are offered for sale.

“If these properties remain empty for much longer, the council will have to consider what options are open to us, including the compulsory purchase of the houses, which would mean us putting them on the market ourselves and getting them occupied.”