Campaigners for the homeless found themselves kicked out of a busy shopping centre.

The Brighton leg of Shelter's sit-in protest to end bad housing came to an abrupt end when staff at Churchill Square asked them to leave.

The charity workers had arrived with a bright red armchair for people to sit on and have their picture taken to show their support for the campaign.

The photos were then to be put on the Shelter web site as part of their Million Children Campaign to end bad housing.

But the centre manager asked the campaigners to leave, claiming it was too political.

A Shelter spokeswoman said: "It was really disappointing because what we are doing is completely non-partisan.

"Stopping bad housing for children is something everybody will care about but if we can't find places to talk about it then how is anybody going to know?"

She said they were not asking for money but were trying to raise the profile of the campaign and encourage people to look at their web site.

In Brighton and Hove 680 homeless people and families are in temporary accommodation, bed-and-breakfasts and other emergency shelters.

The Shelter spokeswoman said: "Bad housing affects children's health, their education and their futures. We're trying to make sure the next generation of children have somewhere decent to live."

A Churchill Square spokesman said: "We are a non-political organisation and we cannot permit that sort of thing on the premises."

The Shelter protest is taking place across the country. To register support, go to www.shelter.org.uk/sitin