Thousands of pounds of European cash has been withdrawn from a council because a tourist trail was cheaper than expected.

Brighton and Hove City Council is having £67,000 cut from a five-year £420,000 grant for the Circuit Touristique around the city centre.

A spokeswoman said signs and street furniture for the route through the city, mirroring a similar initiative in Dieppe, had cost less than anticipated.

Lib Dems said the loss was a missed opportunity to use the cash elsewhere and are calling for an official investigation.

Group leader Paul Elgood said mistakes had been made costing materials and the council should have monitored the project more carefully.

He said the funds, from the EU's Interreg programme could have been used to regenerate other parts of the city centre.

The council said the £67,000 was an underspend on the scheme rather than a real loss of funding.

It had been important not to overspend because cost would have had to be met from the council tax.