Would-be buyers of new luxury loft homes in central Brighton have spent two nights queuing on the street.

The line formed on Monday night in North Road, Brighton, outside the old Evening Argus building, which is to be converted into 61 apartments.

This morning about 30 people waited for the doors to open to stake a claim on one of the apartments, designed by Terence Conran's firm.

The group, some of them paid to queue by friends, put up makeshift shelters of boards and blue plastic against the wind and rain.

First in the queue were Robert Brown, 27, and Jayne Slingo, 17, who had been waiting outside the £18.5 million development since Monday night.

They were being paid by strangers to stay in the queue. Rob had been offered £100 and Jayne £200.

Rob said: "We are living in a beach hut at the moment. From my wages and the money we get from queuing we hope to put down a deposit on a flat for ourselves."

One mother said she had spent two days queueing to put a deposit down for her son, who is working in Prague.

Another woman said she had not even seen inside the building but was determined to sign up for one of the flats after reading about the scheme.

Developer City Loft put the apartments, which start at £130,000, on sale today.

Those waiting in the queue were supplied with croissants and coffee from the nearby Dorset Street Bar.

Stan, a homeless man who was being paid to queue by a would-be buyer, said: "Me and a mate are doing it in split shifts. We cannot afford to buy a property this expensive.

"I am homeless and it is an added bonus to be paid for sleeping on the street."

One queuer, who did not want to be named, said: "Local people cannot afford to queue up and buy. We have got city property prices but most people in Brighton do not get paid city wages."

More than 1,500 people have made inquiries about the development and 600 visited the marketing suite in the first two days.

City Lofts head of sales Andre Mansoori-Dara said: "We knew demand would be high because of the prestige of this development and the fact that it is the first true metropolitan-style loft living to be unveiled right in the centre of Britain's newest city."

Stewart Gray, director of estate agents Austin Gray, said: "We have never encountered a development which has attracted such a strong response with people camping out overnight to reserve their chosen apartment."

The scheme is scheduled for completion in autumn 2002.