Litter, cracked paving stones and graffiti greet passengers at Brighton railway station, according to community campaigners.

They reckon visitors who arrive by train are welcomed into a rubbish tip and they say the area needs cleaning up.

Barry Leigh, chairman of North Laine Community Association, said: "We are very concerned the area is grubby, giving a bad impression to anybody arriving into the city.

"Graffiti is an ongoing battle. Although there is the occasional attempt to clean away the graffiti it is not enough. What we need is a continual, concerted effort to keep it under control.

"There always seem to be rubbish bags on the streets, which are ripped open by seagulls, allowing rubbish to spill into the street."

Councillor for St Peters and North Laine Simon Williams is also concerned about graffiti, litter and broken paving stones. He is in discussions with officers at Brighton and Hove City Council to try to get the area cleaned up.

He said: "Things seem to have got even worse over the last few months, yet the station is the most visible part of the city, with thousands of people passing through every day.

"As a tourist city we can't afford to present this kind of welcome to visitors. It's basically saying welcome to our rubbish tip Brighton.

"Although it is an exciting and vibrant area, there's a feeling among residents that the station area is at risk of going down hill."

He said the bus stop zone on Queen's Road looked particularly rundown and the junction with Guildford Road suffered continual problems with commercial waste bags left split open.

A council spokeswoman said efforts were being made to clean up the area.

She said: "We clean the streets regularly and there are plenty of litter bins. But really it is up to visitors and residents to take responsibility for their rubbish.

"We carry out safety checks on paving slabs and replace any which are unsafe. However, we do not have the money available to replace slabs with cosmetic cracks."