A man has been left £550 out of pocket after his letting agent handed over his tenancy to another company and vanished.

Anthony Garrioch, 20, moved out of his spotless flat in Stoneham Road, Hove, on January 30 but says he is still waiting for his deposit to be returned.

PPS, which has taken over the accounts of Property Solutions, says at least four other tenants have contacted them trying to get their cash back.

Mr Garrioch moved into the flat with his girlfriend six months ago but they split up and decided to move out a month early, paying their final month's rent.

He said: "We paid the first month's rent and deposit in cash when we moved in and they never had any problems with us. We always paid on time. We left the flat in a better condition than when we moved in.

"The day we vacated the surveyor came round and said it was 100 per cent OK. He said we would get the deposit back, no problem. When we moved out I phoned the agent and said I needed the cheque to pay a phone bill, which is now overdue.

"They said I would have it the next day but it never arrived. Every time I've phoned up they've told me I'll have the cheque tomorrow but it never arrives. I phoned on Friday and was told everything had been taken over by another company."

Property Solutions' receptionists are now directing all inquiries to PPS, based in Hove.

Anthony Whitehead, a partner in PPS, confirmed the company was in the process of taking over Property Solutions and was going through the company's accounts.

Mr Whitehead said: "We didn't get notification of things being passed over until Monday morning and only started to get involved in the transfer in the middle of last week.

"We are taking over the rental portfolio of Property Solutions and the property management company Hamilton Luke. I get the impression they were running the companies down.

"What we haven't had yet are any money transfers, deposits or balances. On the financial side, I'm not sure what's going to happen. I'm going to ask our accountants how long it will be. I'm hoping they can release the deposits and get things going very soon."

Mr Whitehead said there had been at least four other tenants wanting their deposits back.

Receptionists still at Property Solutions' office said they had not heard from the company director all week and had been unable to contact him.