Passengers will be left out in the cold following the sudden closure of Brighton's Pool Valley coach station.

Howard Trevette last night announced he was no longer able to run the 1929-built station, which he took over eight years ago.

Pool Valley is used by 800,000 people a year arriving and departing from the city centre.

But years of neglect have taken their toll despite award-winning efforts by Mr Trevette to bring the area up to scratch.

Last week he warned he would have to close unless he received financial help from the city council to improve facilities.

The station has also been targeted by vandals and coach bays have been parked in by rogue motorists.

Buses and coaches will still be able to use the bays for picking up and setting down passengers but the closure means there will be no waiting room, toilets or other facilities. The ticket office has also closed.

Mr Trevette said: "It is sad. If people had listened, this would never have happened. It was a lack of care and thought by the people who mattered."

Councillor Paul Elgood, Liberal Democrat group leader on the council, said: "This is absolutely tragic. Mr Trevette put so much into the station, yet he got no council backing having struggled with it for years. The council has let him and the travelling public down."

A council spokesman said: "We're sorry to hear Mr Trevette is leaving and equally sorry if he thinks it's the council's fault.

"Our immediate priority now is to ensure there's an alternative convenient place for people to buy their tickets."

"Our next priority is investigating getting a much better bus station in a more user-friendly location."

A spokeswoman for National Express said: "This will not affect National Express services to and from Brighton."