A care home which has been branded "unsafe and inadequate" has been put into special measures.

A damning report into the home run by Brighton and Hove City Council revealed that the service was not safe or well led.

The residential care home, 83 Beaconsfield Villas in Brighton, caters for six people with learning disabilities and autism.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the health watchdog which inspects hospitals and care homes, inspected it after it received concerns about the level of staffing and how risks were being managed.

In its report, the watchdog said: “People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests.”

It said care was not always person-centred, and did not always promote people's dignity, privacy and human rights.

There were not always enough staff to meet people's needs fully, the report said.

The overall rating for the care home is now "inadequate" which means it will be put into special measures.

This means the CQC will keep it under review and inspect again within six months to check for significant improvements.

The watchdog also identified failures to reduce risks to people and ensure safe staffing levels.

A city council spokesman said: “We accept fully the CQC report into Beaconsfield Villas that has just been published, and take very seriously the concerns raised.

“A number of issues such as fire safety, infection control and property maintenance are being or have already been addressed. A robust action plan is in place to address all the recommendations in the report.

“The safety of our residents remains our highest priority. We would emphasise that the CQC is not currently seeking to close Beaconsfield Villas.

“We have spoken to all of the families of the residents about the report and have shared the report with them. 

“We have also offered them the opportunity to have a more detailed discussion about its contents and about how we have addressed or are addressing the concerns highlighted.

 “We expect the CQC will want to revisit the home in the next few months. We are confident that when they do they will see that significant improvements have taken place.”