Organisers of a sand sculpture festival say the display has been plagued by people throwing stones at the exhibits.

The vandals have damaged one of the 150 Egyptian-themed sculptures at Black Rock, near Brighton Marina, which cost £1 million to install.

The crocodile in a River Nile scene was hit in the jaw and mouth after someone hurled pebbles at it.

Co-ordinator Huib Joor, 32, said they had had a problem with stone-throwing since the first sculptor began work.

He said: "We want to catch them. It's an annoying problem but it happens everywhere and you have to live with it."

Sussex Police said there had been two reports of people flinging stones, on July 16 and July 27.

Despite this, Mr Joor said he would be happy to bring the international festival back to Brighton next year.

Thousands of pounds has been spent on security for the site, with netting around the perimeter and guards with dogs patrolling the display at night.

A team of 60 professional carvers worked on the sculptures, which have been on show at the former swimming pool site since mid-July.