Managers of a council's sheltered housing units are threatening legal and industrial action claiming they are victims of discrimination.

The mostly women managers of Brighton and Hove City Council's sheltered housing schemes say they are being stopped from studying for qualifications vital to their careers.

They claim the council is breaking the law and breaching its own equal opportunities policies by preventing them going on training courses.

The council said it had a strong equal opportunities policy and would be concerned if anybody was being discriminated against.

One of the managers said she was told her role was a "job rather than a career" by council officers and she should look elsewhere if she wanted to develop her career.

Another manager, who asked not to be named, said: "It has been going on for quite some time but I think we have got to the end of our tether now.

"We are fed up with the bullying tactics, we are fed up with having no equal opportunities."

Managers of the council's sheltered housing units, mostly for elderly people, typically manage about 20 flats, although some look after more than 40 and all provide cover for holidays and sickness.

Gary Smith, of the GMB union, which is representing the managers, said: "Our members do a tough job looking after the most frail in our community.

"I do not think their work is fully appreciated, possibly because most of them are women. We are backing our members all the way."

He said a ballot on industrial action, such as refusing to do paperwork, could take place soon.

The managers are also considering going to the courts, saying the council is breaching equal opportunities and sexual discrimination laws.

The council's neighbourhood services manager, Helen Furlong, said the managers did an important job and she was talking the complaint seriously.

The council is in talks with managers and the GMB to resolve the dispute.