A council is making its beaches more accessible to wheelchair users.

By introducing new boardwalks, toilets and all terrain wheelchairs for hire, Brighton and Hove City Council is hoping to make the beach accessible to all.

In the past, the council has been criticised for the lack of sufficient disabled access on the beach.

Near the Palace Pier in central Brighton, there is a new wheelchair accessible beach deck. 

The deck includes picnic tables, sunshades and a seating area.

The council says it "gives priority to disabled people to enjoy spending time with friends and family on the beach".

The council has idenfitied an area for a similar deck at Hove, which it says could be developed "if funding becomes available".

There are three beach-friendly wheelchairs available to borrow from Brighton's seafront office at no charge.

But Sophie Buck, a wheelchair user from Hove, told the Argus earlier this year that they can be stressful to hire and do not solve every access issue.

“It’s more suitable for going on a long walk - or rather roll - on the pebbles or driving into the sea, not just simply being able to access the beach and get near the sea,” she said.

“Beach wheelchairs are lot of effort to hire. You have to go to where the wheelchairs are to be hired from, complete a booking form and a consent form, remember your ID, give a deposit, be conscious of bringing the wheelchair back within two hours and trust them with your own expensive chair."

The council says the chairs have been "extremely popular" with users.

Earlier this year, the Black Roack boardwalk opened. It provides stable and level access to the beach from the Volk’s Railway Station at Black Rock to the Volk’s Workshop at the bottom of Dukes Mound.  

There is more to come, and the council's Kingsway to the Sea plans include accessibility updates on Hove seafront.

“Every year millions of visitors arrive in the city to enjoy our seafront and beaches so it’s vital that we do everything we can to ensure they are accessible for everyone," said Councillor Steph Powell, who co-chairs the tourism, equalities, communities and culture committee.

“Working with the Beach Access Working Group has enabled us to deliver improvements which are making a real difference for those with mobility issues.

"I thank everyone who has been involved in this work so far and I am excited to see our future plans to improve accessibility develop over the coming months.”