Disabled groups have joined the fight to save an historic library from moving.

They are calling on councillors to allow Hove library to stay where it is.

Brighton and Hove City Council needs to improve access for the disabled to comply with legislation due to come into force in April.

It claims the estimated £48,000 cost of installing a lift would be too expensive and take up too much space.

Instead, it proposes closing the 97-year-old Carnegie-designed building in Church Road and moving the library to the banqueting suite at nearby Hove Town Hall.

An outcry has forced councillors to put the plans on hold while a working group considers whether to approve the move.

The library's existing disabled ramp and automatic doors were paid for by the Bluebird Society for the Disabled.

The organisation provides services and support for more than 200 disabled people in the area.

Chairwoman May Longhurst said: "Hove library is an institution and we want to see it stay in the lovely building it is now in.

"It would not be right if the money we have already spent on improving access to the library was wasted as a result of it moving to the town hall."

Diane Fazackarley, from Bevendean, Brighton, is a regular library user.

She is blind and physically disabled and uses an electric wheelchair to get about with the help of a guide dog.

She said: "It seems criminal that the council wants to shut the library for the sake of a small amount of money to provide a lift.

"I have a lift at home and it only cost £8,000 to install over three floors. It is only a little larger than a chair and does not take up much space at all."

Deirdre Francis, project manager for Brighton and Hove Federation of Disabled People, said its clients were against the proposed move.

She said: "A lot of the disabled people we see are against the library being moved and have expressed their concerns to us."

More than 2,000 protesters have joined a campaign to save the building launched by The Friends of Hove Library.

Convenor Christopher Hawtree said: "Quite a few people in wheelchairs have given us their backing along with others who have disabilities. Some are quite upset that they are being seen as the cause of any need to move the library."

Hove councillor Paul Elgood said the views of disabled people strengthened the case for the library to remain where it is.

He said: "This puts to an end the argument that the building needs to close on the grounds that disabled people can't use it."

A council spokeswoman said: "A review of the options for the improvement of library services in Hove is being carried out by a cross party working group. This review will include providing access for disabled people."