Brighton and Hove City Council has been given £265,771 to store fridges dumped in streets and on waste land because of new EU rules

The grant is a slice of the £40 million set aside for local authorities to cope with a "fridge mountain."

East Sussex is to receive £353,464 and West Sussex £535,815.

A new Brussels regulation requires the removal from scrapped fridges of CFC gases, blamed for the destruction of the ozone layer.

But no recycling plants have been built, landing councils with the bill for storing fridges which retailers are no longer willing to collect.

Environment minister Michael Meacher has responded to pleas from local authorities for extra cash to cope with the problem.

The grants are intended to plug the gap until April, when money to store fridges will be included as part of an Environment Department grant.

By then, more recycling plants should be available.