THE general manager of a top hotel has warned there may be a skills shortage as a result of the historic Brexit vote.

German-born Sascha Koehler, who has worked for the Hilton Group since 1999, said the Hilton Brighton Metropole has benefitted from the weaker pound and more tourists deciding to spend their holiday in this country instead of going abroad.

But he said that the immigration issue must be handled delicately by politicians.

He said: "I want to stress that this is my personal view but we could be facing a quite significant skills shortage.

"We employ around 200 staff and we try to employ local people whenever possible.

"We do have a high proportion of foreign workers.

"Some come from Spain and we also employ a high number of staff from eastern Europe, primarily Poland, Hungary and Lithuania.

"I am confident that we will make the situation work but it does need to be handled delicately."

The Metropole has 340 rooms and has experienced a successful 2016 with revenue and profits both up.

Mr Koehler told our Business section on Tuesday (Dec 20) that he was predicting an even better 2017.

The hotel celebrated its 125th anniversary last year and Mr Koehler hailed it as the place where "anything is possible."

It enjoyed £3.75 million investment last year alone with modest renovations having taken place this year and more planned for the next 12 months.

Mr Koehler said that the i360 had benefitted the tourism industry in Brighton and Hove because it was unique and was being used as a great sales tool by his conference team.

In October The Argus reported a warning from Sussex farmers that the £1 billion fruit picking industry needs 4,000 migrants to survive in the wake of Brexit.

John Hall, executive officer for the West Sussex Growers Association, said 8,000 workers are employed in horticulture in West Sussex - and up to half are migrants.

He said: "Without migrants, lots of the crops that our businesses are selling simply would not get grown and be harvested.

"It will cause massive problems for food and plant production. I simply do not know how businesses would be able to produce the goods."