A university is asking landlords to be patient after some students were left with no money because of delays to loans and grants.

Students at the University of Brighton are among those still waiting for their first maintenance payments as the Student Loans Company (SLC) struggles to cope with demand.

The university has been bailing out cash-starved students with emergency hardship loans for items such as rent, food and course materials.

Staff have now written to some landlords asking them to be patient while waiting for their rent payments.

A spokesman for the University of Brighton said: “The situation is a lot worse than in previous years.

"There has been a significant increase in the number of students applying for loans."

However, at the University of Sussex fewer students seem to have been affected.

A spokeswoman said: “We have issued some loans but probably the same amount as normal. There hasn’t been a significant increase.

“It’s quite a complex procedure, but maybe our students got through the system more quickly.”

This year was the first time freshers applied directly to the SLC for grants and loans and the new arrangement has been beset by problems as it struggled to cope with demand.

Data published last week by the SLC revealed 119,000 students who have had their applications approved are still due their first maintenance payments.

Some 70,000 students have not received payments because their attendance at university or college has not yet been confirmed.

A statement from the SLC said: “We are working hard to ensure that this does not happen again next year and are working on a number of measures including offering clear advice and guidance including on application deadlines, simplifying the application process and increasing our call handling capacity.”