Brighton and Hove should be ashamed of the state of Hove seafront, councillors and residents have said.

The authority has been petitioned to tackle mounting vandalism, antisocial behaviour, criminal damage and problems with rubbish.

For someone who rents a beach hut, a visit to the seafront can bring feelings of trepidation. It is not unusual to arrive to find the doors or the back wall of your holiday shelter kicked in by opportunistic thieves or vandals.

Leaseholders have turned up to enjoy a day at the beach to discover evidence of alcohol and drug misuse left behind by intruders, including dirty syringes.

Replacing lost property can be expensive. Although there is little chance of anything being stolen because no one keeps valuables in the huts, trespassers sometimes damage the property or the wooden buildings themselves, leaving them needing new locks or doors.

Tenants, who pay £220 a year to Brighton and Hove City Council, plus insurance, say they want a higher level of protection than they are being afforded by their landlord.

Walter Breindel, 72, who lives in London but has a flat in Wilbury Lodge, Hove, said: "There isn't enough security.

"We have found down-and-outs here. They sleep there. I have found drugs and cigarettes. Once we had to sling everything out afterwards.

"It makes no difference whether you have got locks or not. When you come down, you wonder whether it has been broken into.

"I can't remember the number of times we have changed the locks."

The state of the beach huts and lighting and CCTV nearby has been raised in a letter from residents and councillors to Alan McCarthy, chief executive of Brighton and Hove City Council. It has been signed by residents' associations representing hundreds of people in Brunswick Street West, Brunswick Square, East of Brunswick, and Palmeira and Adelaide.

In a recent single weekend, it complains, intruders broke into more than 30 beach huts. The residents believe that if CCTV and lighting were improved, this would not happen again.

Kari Sund, 68, from Eaton Court, said: "We have been broken into four times. Last time we had to have a new front. They come in from the back or the front. It is such waste because there is nothing to take."

Her husband Lars, also 68, said: "They just do it for the heck of it."

He said the council should work harder to protect the huts considering how much it charged for them. He said: "Our rent has more than doubled in three years. It was £100. Now it is £220."

Mike Kingston, of Adelaide Crescent, who put together the letter on behalf of individual householders and the residents' associations, complained that the council was not managing properly the promenade between the Meeting Place Caf and Western Esplanade. He said it was failing to deal with rubbish adequately and provide lighting and CCTV.

The complaints were backed up by Paul Elgood, ward councillor for Brunswick and Adelaide.

He said: "A much more proactive action is needed. I am going to be asking for a meeting with the director of environment because I think now the council are really going to have to take quite a step forward.

"I want to see a seafront officer based in Hove along with a police presence.

"It has got progressively worse. These sorts of things start spiralling, especially more serious crime issues, such as the burning of the beach huts.

"What we are finding is groups of people gathering in Brunswick Square and Adelaide Crescent causing quite serious problems late at night and groups gathering at the Peace Statue."

John Small, of the Regency Society, said the organisation was "very worried" about the state of the bandstand, which probably encouraged vandalism and other bad behaviour elsewhere on the seafront.

He said: "It is an absolute disgrace. Nobody else can be responsible for the condition of the bandstand other than the council. It looks exactly like a building site.

"The notices are talking about the situation a year ago.

"We have been monitoring the bandstand on our website through various stages of neglect. Nothing appears to be happening. As soon as a place looks neglected, it gets worse."

When The Argus visited the seafront this week, tourists had mixed feelings about its state of repair.

John Williams, 72, from Bedwas, South Wales, was looking after his grandchild for the day. He had noticed no problems with rubbish but thought the seafront office should pay more attention to enforcing the bylaws. He said: "They're not keeping up with the cycling. We saw a little one nearly get knocked over."

Not everyone was unhappy. Sharon King, 48, from Croydon, who works for the Salvation Army, was sitting on a deckchair overlooking the beach.

She said: "We come here because we love it. We prefer it here than in Brighton because it's quieter. There are plenty of bins."

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said there were moves to bring the seafront into a better state. She said the seafront office was very active in promoting public safety.

She said: "We provide a trained, qualified and competent beach lifeguard service who, between agreed and publicised hours, provide information, assistance and a rescue service for bathers and beach users.

This includes first aid.

"The officers patrol every morning, starting at 6am and will telephone beach hut owners the same morning to let them know if their hut has been vandalised, broken into etc.

"The seafront officer will, where possible, effect simple repairs to secure the doors of a beach hut in an attempt to protect the owner's property. We do not report individual cases of vandalism or break-in to the police. This is for the beach hut owner to undertake if they wish as it is their property.

"The seafront officers educate, advise and will enforce bylaws relating to cycling and to dogs who are either not on leads or not on the dog-friendly beaches. We also work on joint operations with the police.

"In response to concerns from residents, we are employing a security firm to provide two stewards every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from 5pm to 9pm between Hove Street and Medina Terrace to advise people not to barbecue in this area.

"The Hove Esplanade lighting has been identified as a problem area due to the age of the equipment and cabling installed.

"The scale of the problem requires significant expenditure which was agreed at the June environment committee meeting.

"The project to repair the lights and lay the cable is due to start in early August, although it will take approximately three months to complete.

"Replacement of the lights that are missing will start as soon as the lanterns are received from the manufacturer, which should be next week.

"The council recognises the importance of replacing failing columns and lights, which is a national problem.

"However, our local transport plan includes significant investment into the lighting stock or more than £1.5 million over the five years.

"Cityclean staff clean the beach and promenade from Hove to Saltdean, seven days a week, 365 days a year from 6am to 9pm in three shifts.

"The most popular sections of the beach have large communal bins for waste and litter, which are cleared every other day. In addition there are plenty of litter bins along the promenade and these are emptied every morning and evening.

"We are fully aware during the summer months there are many more visitors to our beaches and we employ additional beach cleaners to deal with any increase in litter. We are always looking at new ways to improve our service.

"Our contractors are always given clear instructions not to leave any painting and building materials on site and that, when contractors are not working, barriers are erected and secured. These barriers and warning tape are considered essential to protect the public.

"We are about to undertake redecoration and repairs to the white cast iron shelters along Hove Esplanade and the two timber green shelters opposite King's House.

"All shelters will be fenced off individually as works are undertaken and the contractor will be made aware of the need to properly secure the site while work is being carried out.

"We are still working very closely with English Heritage and Heritage Lottery Fund to secure funding to restore the Hove bandstand.

"Like all of the lottery grant bodies, they have huge demands for the money available but we hope to achieve a positive outcome later this summer.

"The current materials stored there on a temporary basis are being used to effect some repairs to the Seafront Walkway and boardwalk further along the seafront."