Resident Eric Brown may hold the key to the human face which mysteriously appeared in a grassy bank in Brighton.

Passers-by were baffled after the eerie face appeared in a patch of grass on a bank in Ashton Drive.

But Mr Brown says he watched the people responsible for the alternative art put their skills into action from his kitchen in Richmond Heights.

He said: "It was two young women. They were dressed all in black and put down pieces of card and then used these spray machines, which obviously had something in them which burnt the grass."

Brighton and Hove City Council worker Mr Brown spotted the girls in action early one morning last week when he got out of bed for a drink.

The women, aged about 18, got out of a car and made their masterpiece, then jumped back into their vehicle and fled.

Mr Brown said: "I thought it might have been something to do with the Brighton Festival, but they were probably art students.

"I guess it's a form of graffiti in a way, but it will go when the grass grows back."