Legal experts have advised a council to invoke special powers to speed up the redevelopment of an eyesore shopping centre.

A barrister told Worthing Borough Council it could activate "fast-track" compulsory purchase orders on the few shops still open at Teville Gate.

The shops in the complex, close to the main railway station, were built in the Seventies.

Most of the units are empty and boarded up but an electrical shop and chemist are still trading.

Farrho Developments Ltd plans to knock down the precinct and build a multi-screen cinema and restaurants.

But work is being held up by businesses which still have several years of their leases to run.

The boarded-up shops mean few people will now walk through the precinct after dark.

A man recently suffered multiple stab wounds and a woman was confronted by an armed attacker at the neighbouring multi-storey car park.

Both attacks happened during daylight, fuelling demands for the demolition of the centre.