Potentially-deadly asbestos was stripped from a derelict building for more than two years without residents being told.

People living near the former Alliance and Leicester HQ in Hove say only a handful of residents knew work was being undertaken to remove asbestos panels.

Government guidelines mean the Alliance and Leicester had an obligation to inform residents when the work was to start.

The company has admitted it failed to do so but is unlikely to face action as there are no laws to back up the guidelines.

Michael Henley, of Park View Road, said: "People should have been told what was going on.

"I have seen children skateboarding over there in the last year and been over to tell them that there was asbestos in the building but nobody knew they were actually stripping it at the time."

Caroline Williams, who lives nearby, said: "We have been here for seven years and I cannot remember receiving anything from Alliance and Leicester about stripping asbestos from the building.

"It concerns me we were not told in advance that work was going to start, especially as asbestos is involved.

"I have two children and I told them not to play over there because we knew there was asbestos on the site."

Idris Hussain, of Orchard Avenue, said: "Someone should have told us that this work was going on.

"I have lived here six years and in all that time nobody from Alliance or the contractors has contacted me to say they were about to strip the asbestos from the building or when it would happen.

"It is very worrying when you hear how asbestos can cause all sorts of breathing problems, especially as I have children who are asthmatic."

Councillor David Bennett, whose Stanford ward includes part of the Hove Park area, said: "I am astounded. I had no idea that asbestos had already been stripped from the site.

"It is quite incredible that this work can go on without local people being properly informed about it.

"There were only token fencing panels up to prevent anyone, but particularly children, getting on to the site until recently.

"The hoardings there now only went up when demolition work began."

A spokesman for the company said although they had not followed the guidelines to the letter, they had followed them "in spirit" by revealing there was asbestos on the site when they began moves to sell the building.

It was known asbestos panels were used to insulate the concrete office block, which backs on to Hove Park in Orchard Road, when it was built in the Sixties.

Alliance and Leicester could not sell the site after relocating to Leicester ten years ago because of the huge costs of removing the asbestos.

The building stood derelict for many years and was vandalised.

It was finally sold for redevelopment but a condition of the deal was Alliance and Leicester should meet the cost of removing the asbestos before it was signed and sealed.

A spokesman for the company told The Argus they had paid a specialist contractor more than £1 million to do the work.

He said the site was sold to the Sussex-based Cuckfield Group which plans to redevelop it as the £65 million City Park containing homes and offices.

He said: "We have employed specialist contractors to carry out the work which has been done in accordance with very strict regulations. I'm not sure of the time it's taken but I wouldn't argue if you said two years or more.

"Most buildings of that era contained asbestos and I can confirm that the Hove Park building did, although I do not know if it was white or blue asbestos.

"The contractors would have been very careful to keep the local authority fully informed about what they were doing on-site and complied with all planning regulations.

"Under guidelines from the Government, there is an obligation to inform local residents, which we did not do.

"Although we did not follow the guidelines to the letter, we believe we did follow them in spirit.

"We understand people's concerns but we made it clear that there was asbestos on the site and that it would have to be removed at some time in discussions with residents and councillors."

Demolition work began on the main building in June but was halted three weeks ago when another pocket of asbestos was discovered in the building.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors were called in and work was allowed to continue on other parts of the site while the remaining asbestos was safely removed.

Asbestos dust has been linked to breathing problems and cancer deaths and is considered so dangerous it has now been banned from use in modern buildings.

An HSE spokesman said: "Alliance and Leicester did have an obligation under the guidelines to tell people what was going on.

"But there are no sanctions we can take against them as the guidelines do not have the force of law."