Shingle has been washed up so high on Hove's beaches that there are fears for the safety of beach users.

Recent storms have piled up pebbles at the top of the beaches until they are almost level with the promenade.

They are now so high that steps and ramps leading down to the original beach level have almost disappeared.

A narrow strip of pebbles has been left at the top. After that the beach shelves down steeply to the water's edge at low tide.

Liberal Democrat councillor Jenny Barnard-Langston claims beaches are now a danger to families with children, the elderly and the disabled.

She said Brighton and Hove City Council failed to level the beaches after the winter storms because of budget cutbacks.

Bad weather since then had made the problem worse.

Coun Barnard-Langston is calling on council bosses to make beach levels safe again and to restore the buried steps and ramps.

She said: "You would have to be a mountain goat to climb up some of the steep slopes once you had been down to the water at low tide.

"It would be easy for anyone walking on the narrow strip of beach at the top to lose their footing and hurt themselves falling down the slope.

"It is particularly bad on the beaches behind the King Alfred leisure centre where most of the steps and ramps have almost completely been buried.

"It is stopping people who might otherwise use Hove's beaches from enjoying them.

"Once again, we are seeing money spent on Brighton's beaches while Hove is neglected and is relegated to becoming just the west end of Brighton."

Coun Barnard-Langston said the excavator council workers use to level the pebbles was also dangerous.

She said it appeared to have been abandoned and was now a rusting hulk that was a danger to children who climbed and played on it.

She has appealed to council bosses to move it or fence it off to prevent youngsters from being injured.

A council spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the concerns about the steepness of the pebbles running down to the shore behind the King Alfred.

"We will be taking another look at this over the next couple of days.

"The rest of the beach is currently being levelled once a fortnight, so the machine needs to be on site to carry out the work.

"It is due to be levelled again at the end of the week."