For years rows of brightly-painted beach huts have evoked images of the British seaside.

But the once attractive beach front properties in Seaford are likely to be torn down and replaced with modern ones made from wood and plastic, much to the annoyance of the locals.

The future of the beach huts has quickly become a hotly-debated issue and campaigners are fighting to keep the originals.

Protesters from the 200-member Seaford Bay Protection Group admit the old huts are ugly but they prefer them to the proposed plastic ones.

The group is worried lighting and CCTV would be installed with the new huts, giving the seafront a more urban atmosphere.

Campaigner Lynette James said: "People love coming to Seaford because it is unspoilt and they love the old beach huts.

"I went out on a bank holiday weekend and collected 200 signatures against the plastic huts so it's safe to say people are against the plan. Seaford is not Blackpool and that's why people like it.

"The old huts were built in the late Fifties and are a sort of prefabricated design. They are not pretty but people don't want that area prettified, they want it to be natural."

But Seaford's town councillors are determined to replace 60 old concrete beach huts with new ones, made out of wood and clad in glass-reinforced plastic.

They say the new huts, which will cost about £400,000 to install, will be prettier and blend in with the seafront.

However, Ms James said the old huts should be fixed up and given new uPVC windows to cut the cost of maintenance.

Gerald Summerfield, chairman of the Lewes branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, has also written to the town council to object to the huts and the extra lighting.

He said: "These plans are completely out of character with the area and do not bode well for the future of Seaford as an unspoilt town by the sea."

But John Freeman, leader of Seaford Town Council, said the huts had to be replaced because they were costing more money to maintain than was made from renting them out.

He said: "Worthing has beach huts made out of glass-reinforced plastic and so does Little Common. They look more like traditional beach huts.

"We have done a lot of consultation and they came out as the preferred option."

He said the glass-reinforced plastic huts would be safer and more accessible for disabled people.

The council had considered demolishing the concrete huts, two of which are starting to sag, but decided to replace them instead as they are popular with the people of the town.

Mr Freeman said the lights would only illuminate a few feet of ground around the huts, not the entire seafront, so the area would not look overdeveloped.

He said: "Tourism is big for Seaford. The town has a certain appeal and we want people to come and enjoy it.

"We are well aware of the sensitivity of the area but the old huts cost more to maintain than they bring in. We have to do something."

The council is to ask people in Seaford whether they want the glass-reinforced plastic huts before making its final decision.

If it decides to introduce the plastic huts they will be built by October.

The cost of installing the huts would be recouped in a decade as most units would be leased for ten years at £6,500.