A campaign has been launched for a council crackdown on antisocial behaviour on Hove seafront.

Beach hut owners, residents and councillors want to see tougher action.

Football games, illegal barbecues and fires on the seafront lawns, as well as beach huts being broken into and vandalised are among their concerns.

Brighton and Hove City Council is being urged to bring in new bylaws to deal with the problems, and a public meeting to discuss the issues will be held at Hove Town Hall tonight at 7pm.

Bill Cowell, 68, of Waterloo Street, Hove, said revellers regularly start fires to sit around on Hove Lawns.

He said: "They are dangerous and cause damage to the grass which takes a year to repair.

"They remain a danger to people with bare feet once they have been put out because the embers remain hot a long time.

"The football games organised on the lawns during the summer are also dangerous.

"There was nearly a fatal accident last year after a ball was kicked into traffic."

Vandals breaking into beach huts on the promenade is an increasing problem.

With some huts in prime spots changing hands for up to £10,000 they have become one of the city's best investments in recent years.

Siobhan Barnes bought a hut three years ago for her family when her father was unwell.

Mrs Barnes said: "We bought it when prices were still reasonable and my father sat out in it during the summer while he was recovering.

"It has been broken into three times since last September.

"I would like to see extra seafront officers down here as well as a change in the bylaws to help sort out the problems."

Hove councillor Paul Elgood wants the council to introduce a number of measures to get tough on antisocial behaviour on the seafront.

He said: "The council has been considering new bylaws to tackle the problems for years.

"The existing laws were not designed to cope with the kind of anti-social behaviour people are coming to me about.

"It is time the council got a move on and sorted out these issues once and for all."

A council spokeswoman said a complete ban on ball games on Hove Lawns is one of the options to be discussed at tonight's meeting.

She added: "Our seafront officers are also daily stopping and speaking to cyclists caught riding on the seafront.

"We have two days of action planned soon with the police to stop and fine those who do not use the cycle lanes provided.

"We are also liaising with the police to get their CCTV van put at the bottom of Grand Avenue in the early evenings."

Sergeant David Bettis said: "There will be extra police officers and police community support officers available throughout the summer to look at the issues raised."