Sunbathers are ignoring danger signs and venturing on to a beach which was closed two months ago for safety reasons.

Sunseekers strolled on to the West Beach in Newhaven over the weekend despite the fact Newhaven Port and Properties, which owns Newhaven Harbour, closed the beach in April saying the wall along the back was dangerous and could fall on people if they leaned against it.

Notices were put up at the top of the stairs and residents, businesses and politicians called for repair work to be carried out as soon as possible.

A campaign was launched by Newhaven's Liberal Democrats called Save Our Sands and a petition was launched to encourage the company to re-open the beach in time for the summer.

But nearly two months on the work has not begun and the high temperatures over the weekend saw visitors disregard the warnings.

Newhaven town councillor David Rogers was not surprised. He said: "Heading to the West Beach in the summer has been a traditional summer activity for Newhaven families for decades.

"That's why we started the petition to call on NPP to have the repairs done before the summer. That was a month ago.

"There are cracks in the wall. I am not a surveyor but they don't look any worse to me than they have done for some years.

"The company said this is protection against possible claims if stones should fall on somebody, which is understandable from their point of view but we want the beach open for the summer.

"In about two weeks time the president of Seine Maritime, which owns NPP, is visiting the area so I am hoping to present the petition to him then."

Councillor Judith Ost said: "If it is unsafe then people ignoring the signs are clearly doing so at their own risk.

"People are very angry that the sandy beach is being closed off to them for reasons that are not very obvious.

"The wall does not seem to be in any worse state than previous years."

Councillor Carla Butler added: "The beach has been neglected for years.

"Local residents pick up the litter on the land because NPP don't do it themselves. It's about time NPP put some money into the beach.

"They've had plenty of time to do it, so why leave it until the summer?

"Children will climb over the barrier so NPP needs to introduce some enforcement but it's cheaper to repair the wall than pay for enforcement."

NPP managing director Denis Bellelger said: "We are obliged to close the beach because it's very dangerous as stones can fall from the wall.

"There are no plans to repair the wall at the moment because it's too expensive.

"The beach is not useful for the port. The beach is of public use and so we have asked the local authority if it can find the means in order to help the port."