Shipping containers that will be used to help house Brighton and Hove’s homeless are expected to arrive in the city in the next six to eight weeks.

A boat carrying the containers from the Netherlands was due to reach the UK yesterday.

They will be stored at Tilbury while preparation work is carried out on the site on the corner of New England Road and New England Street, Brighton.

The 36 homes will be installed for up to five years and consist of two blocks of containers at three and five storeys high.

There will also be solar panels on the roofs and gardens.

The joint scheme, run by Brighton Housing Trust (BHT) and local developers QED, is aimed at easing the city’s housing shortage.

BHT chief executive Andy Winter said: “Seeing the containers on board the ship sent shivers down my spine and brought home to me the reality of this initiative.

He added: “I am so grateful to our colleagues at QED Property, who had the vision for this development and who are making it a reality.

“There is an acute housing shortage in Brighton and Hove.

“This development will provide a small yet significant contribution to alleviating that shortage for the next five years.”

The homes are expected to be ready for use by the autumn.