Councillors have called for an inquiry after housing refurbished using public cash was trashed.

Brighton and Hove City Council spent £300,000 of Government grants on the self-contained flats, which are used for temporary housing in two listed buildings in Brunswick Place in Hove.

But the accommodation - for vulnerable people who would otherwise be homeless - doesn't have any security staff and neighbours have complained about antisocial behaviour and damage to the properties.

Photographs sent to The Argus show what appears to be blood on the floor, smashed windows, broken glass and swastikas scrawled on walls.

The council says the damage was caused by one individual and has since been repaired.

But Brunswick Place resident Judy Nicholas, 56, told The Argus: "It is quite irresponsible to have left all these people and not monitored the situation as closely as they should have."

On Tuesday, a meeting was held between council officials, ward councillors, police and Brunswick Place residents to discuss the problems.

Tim Pope, 52, a father-of-two who set up Brunswick Place residents' association, said: "The council refurbished both buildings at a huge cost and to the highest specification.

"However, it has become a ghetto in there as the result of the behaviour of just a few residents. Most of the people there want to live in peace.

"I fully accept that people have to go somewhere and I am very supportive of that. My argument throughout has been the council's management and supervision.

"I am pleased it is finally taking the situation seriously but it has taken a member of the public to go in there for action to be taken."

Paul Elgood, Liberal Democrat councillor for Brunswick and Adelaide ward, said: "The council should have put 24-hour security in there to prevent this from happening.

"I am asking for a public inquiry to be held into what went wrong."

Councillor David Watkins, who also represents the ward, added his support for an inquiry.

He said: "The council needs to react very quickly on this."

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said the accommodation previously housed people with mental health problems and was staffed, but it stopped being used for that purpose in December when the council acknowledged clients' behaviour was a problem.

"We've said to the neighbours we'll come back with some options to look into how resources are managed in the area, given that Brunswick is one of the most densely populated areas and has several facilities in close proximity, all housing single, vulnerable people.

"It may be a case of looking into any behavioural problems at this building or it may require an area approach given the other facilities in the neighbourhood, for example St Patrick's night shelter, all of which add to the concentration of single, homeless people in a relatively small area.

"We'll continue working to address any concerns."


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