Campaigners say a seafront promenade has become so neglected it has become a no-go zone after dark.

Four residents' associations, which represent hundreds of neighbours, and ten businesses have sent a damning dossier of complaints to Brighton and Hove City Council, which is accused of failing to properly maintain Hove seafront between the Meeting Place Cafe and Western Esplanade.

They say the promenade is a disgrace and claim visitors to the seafront are being put in danger by poor lighting and CCTV.

The groups say Hove seafront should be the jewel in the crown of the city but instead, they declared the promenade a "no-go zone" after dark because of problems with violence and antisocial behaviour.

The campaigners, who complained about a catalogue of problems in a joint letter to the council, also say the promenade is a mess and regularly strewn with litter. They are demanding action to make it a welcoming and safe place for tourists and locals. They say beach huts are a regular target for thieves, vandals and drug addicts.

More than 30 huts were broken into over the space of a single weekend earlier in the summer.

The letter calls for tougher security.

Mike Kingston, of Adelaide Crescent, 58, is a former journalist who now works as an investigative consultant. He said there were also problems with waste collection.

He said: "Three months ago I had meetings with the council. They assured me they were putting in bigger bins. Nothing happened.

"Nobody can walk on our seafront at night. It is a no-go area. It is outrageous. Some of the lights aren't working. It is absolutely outrageous they have allowed for 30-odd years the cabling to fall into disrepair."

The letter was signed by residents' associations for Brunswick Street West, Brunswick Square, East of Brunswick, and Palmeira and Adelaide.

John Small, of the Regency Society, said the organisation was "very worried" about the state of the bandstand.

Paul Elgood, Brunswick and Adelaide ward councillor, said: "We have asked for action from both the police and the council."

A spokeswoman for the council admitted lighting was a problem and said the council was working to improve it. She said seafront officers patrolled in Hove and there was cleaning 365 days a year but the summer brings more visitors.

New cabling was being installed which would improve CCTV, she said, but the council was still waiting for the outcome of a grant application to English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund for the bandstand.

A police spokeswoman said since the 30 beach huts were broken into six weeks ago there had been a crackdown on seafront crime. She said: "There is a dedicated police community support officer for that area"