Traders have accused fellow shopkeepers of trying to poach their identity.

A war of words has broken out between rival action groups in Kemp Town, Brighton.

Shopkeepers in St George's Road believe their counterparts in nearby St James's Street have broken a four-year pact not to promote themselves as Kemp Town Village.

They are unhappy at St James's traders and estate agents marketing themselves as part of Kemp Town Village.

Roland Wallis, chairman of the Kemp Town Village Business Association, said: "If St James's can rename itself Kemp Town Village by poaching our name, we want to become Knightsbridge.

"Our distinctive urban village identity has been constantly eroded. When we made the agreement four years ago, I was against St James's even being known as Kemp Town.

"But I never dreamed they would start calling themselves Kemp Town Village. It's like us calling ourselves Hove."

His partner, Jonathan Macfarlane, said they were also being excluded from joint efforts to improve Kemp Town, such as discussions about a safety forum.

Some 10,000 copies of a brochure promoting St James's have just been published.

The introduction reads: "Kemp Town is one of Brighton and Hove's villages with two vibrant shopping areas running between The Old Steine and Black Rock. St James's is our focus here."

Alan Bond, chairman of the St James's Street Action Group, said:

"The brochure uses the word village just once and at no point does it imply St James's Street is part of Kemp Town Village. We took pains to ensure there could be no accusations of poaching.

"Some traders may say they're part of Kemp Town Village. If they want to, that's fine - are they going to be prosecuted?

"We came to an agreement about how we market the area. We do our best to work together and I just can't understand why there is this tension."

He added everyone was invited to action group meetings and he had offered to share recent cash grants for safer shops schemes.

The Kemp Town Village Business Association has been struggling to get the area put on the map - literally.

The CityGuide pocket map of Brighton, for visitors to the city, cuts off on the edge of Kemp Town Village.

But traders hope their area will be included in the 2004 print run to attract more visitors.

A council spokesman said: "We have agreed to add an arrow and the words To Kemp Town Village at the righthand margin of the map for the next City Guide 2003."