A council has rented out its entire stock of beach huts, leaving a two-year waiting list of eager sunseekers.

More than 100 beach huts on Worthing seafront have been snapped up by holidaymakers three weeks before the summer season officially starts.

To rent a hut costs £510 a year, £584 for the summer season and £76 for the winter.

Beach huts' tenants get first choice on renewing their rental contract and the waiting list has swelled to more than 100 people.

Ian Miller, who has been a beach inspector in Worthing for 20 years, said there had been a steady flow of calls requesting huts in recent weeks.

He said: "We've had a waiting list for the past four or five years. Previous to that you could virtually walk in and rent one 'off the shelf'.

"People who have already got them are immediately offered them for the following year. If they say no, we turn to the waiting list."

Asked why beach huts were so appealing, Mr Miller said: "They are right on the beach. You can sit there with storage space for crockery and a camping stove to make a cup of tea and hope the sun comes out."