Vandals have put a £ 25,000 cycle counter out of action.

A cyclist passing the counter near Surrenden Park in London Road, Brighton, saw it had been damaged and appeared to have been kicked, punched and spat at. Since then, the counter, one of two in Brighton, has been out of action.

Brighton and Hove was the first city in the UK to introduce the counters last May to help transport bosses better understand levels of cycling and create transport policies for the city.

After seeing the recently-damaged cycle counter, and a fresh footprint still in the ground next to it, the witness called Sussex Police, but was told the case would be referred to Brighton and Hove City Council. The cyclist, who did not want to be named, said: "It was almost inevitable it would be attacked. It was a vandalism waiting to happen."

Jeremy Green, managing director of Falco the company which supplies the Danish-made counters to the council, said they had not been receiving data from the counter since the vandalism.

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: "We are aware of the damage and are looking into getting it sorted out."