Social tenants in Sussex could be forced to wait several years to get a home because of the time it is taking to reduce the backlog of applications, a study has claimed.

Housing charity Shelter found that last year 41,453 people were languishing on waiting lists across the county yet just 5,161 homes were let to tenants by local authorities and housing associations.

It means that, unless the average rate at which families are housed picks up, eight years could pass before the county's lists are cleared.

A breakdown of the figures showed the longest projected wait was for social tenants in Chichester, where in 2008/9 5,922 households were waiting for a home and yet just 368 homes were let.

If the the situation continued at this pace, some tenants could still be waiting for a home in 2024 - in 16 years' time.

By contrast, Crawley last year let 642 homes, suggesting it would take the town less than four years to house all of the 2,459 tenants and would-be tenants who are currently waiting.

Brighton and Hove was projected to take 8.6 years to clear its backlog of 9,546 households, on the basis it continued to let at a rate of 1,100 homes a year, as it did in 2008/9.

Sussex Euro MP Caroline Lucas, who plans to contest Brighton Pavilion for the Green Party at the next general election, said she was "horrified" by the scale of the backlog in Brighton and Hove.

Maria Caulfield, cabinet member for housing on Brighton and Hove City Council, said: "We're well aware of housing need and new low cost family housing is part of our planning policy for future years. We have also adapted our service to prevent homelessness and lessen the impact of the recession."