A hotel boss is threatening legal action against Worthing Borough Council over a leaking cesspit at a popular public chalkpit garden.

Chris Chapman was furious when he read a report which accused his company of being unconcerned about sewage spilling into Highdown Gardens, Worthing, which has many rare plants.

Worthing Borough Council has publicly apologised but Mr Chapman, who runs Highdown Towers, a restaurant, hotel and conference facility on the south-facing slope of Highdown Hill, plans to seek £50,000 damages over a bitter wrangle which has gone on for several years.

The council, as a trustee of the grade II* listed garden given to the town by Lady Stern in 1968, said it would vigorously defend its position.

The offending report to the council's leisure and cultural services committee said: "There continues to be serious pollution in the garden following further major leakage of the Highdown Towers cesspit.

"Larger areas are affected and cordoned off. The Chapman Group (Saviour Inns) seem unconcerned by the problem emanating from their operations."

John Thorpe, the council's assistant director of community services, told the committee: "I would like to withdraw the wording of the final sentence and apologise to the Chapman Group."

He said the immediate problem of leaking sewage had been resolved but there was still a dispute about access to the cesspit and its possible re-siting.

Mr Chapman said he had spent thousands of pounds in legal fees over the past few years in a bid to sort out the situation.

He said every time it rained and the water-table rose, the cesspit overflowed and he had to have it emptied once a week.

He said he had been denied access to the cesspit to carry out repairs because it was on council land.

Experts employed by Mr Chapman had suggested moving the cesspit south of Highdown Gardens but the council had put preservation orders on trees lining the proposed route of a linking pipeline.

Mr Chapman said: "They won't let me repair the cesspit and then they threaten to prosecute me. Where do I go from there?"

His solicitor, Jeremy Wootton, said he was ready to serve papers on the council claiming £50,000 damages.

Mr Thorpe said: "Highdown Gardens was given to us by the Stern family.

"As a trustee, the council has to do its best to protect the gardens and will defend vigorously the position it is in at the moment."