Hospital bosses are seeking to build four gas storage towers on the doorstep of a housing estate.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust will be submitting a planning application to Brighton and Hove City Council to build the £250,000 cylinders on the Royal Sussex County Hospital site near the Bristol Estate.

The cylinders will be used to store medical gases including oxygen.

Neighbours are concerned the towers will ruin their views and a ward councillor has said an image of the towers make them look like they came from a Star Wars film.

But hospital bosses said they are essential to its future plans for the site, which include building a new children's hospital, due to open in 2007.

A spokeswoman said: "An application has been submitted to build a gas storage facility of four cylinders which would replace the two already on the site.

"The oxygen will be essential for the new children's hospital and without the storage facility the planned hospital can't be built."

The oxygen would also be piped in to elderly care wards to reduce the need to move gas bottles around the site.

Ray Freeman, co-chairman of the Bristol Estate Community Association, said: "It's unsightly. These four cylinders are going to be placed in view of the flats and residents don't want them there."

Craig Turton, Labour councillor for East Brighton, said: "The scale of the proposed development is entirely inappropriate given its location on the doorstep of the Bristol Estate.

"I share the concerns of local residents that they will lose both natural light and a fantastic view of Brighton if this goes ahead. The towers look like something from the last Star Wars film."

Coun Turton called on Peter Coles, chief executive of the trust, to be a good neighbour and think again.

He suggested that building the oxygen tanks underground would be more appropriate, even if it cost the trust more money.