It may have been the hottest day of the year so far but Brighton beach did not look how you would expect it to on a sunny day in June.

Temperatures in the city soared to 26C yesterday – but despite the sudden heat wave beach-goers kept their distance.

Anne Martin, general manager of the Palace Pier, said: “I think it’s all the rubbish.

“There are a lot of negative comments flying around about the state of Brighton at the moment and I think it is putting people off coming down.

“It has definitely been a lot quieter than we would have normally expected on a day like today.”

Sheila Belfitt, 85, regularly visits Brighton and has come down with her sister for a week-long holiday.

She said she was shocked by the state of the beach.

Mrs Belfitt added: “It has been very smelly today. We were walking along the promenade and it was so dirty.

“There was rubbish flying all over the place and bottles – we had a job trying to find a place to sit down there were so many so many bottles.”

Young people were also getting frustrated with the amount of rubbish as the sweltering heat enhanced the smell.

Hannah Bowtle, 21, of Queen’s Park, Brighton, said: “It’s disgusting, really bad. It’s bad walking through town and the pier has been smelling.

“It hasn’t put us off coming to the beach yet but if it gets really bad I might think twice.”

However, the bin strike has been good news for seagulls.

Calum Kent, 21, also of Queen’s Park Road, Brighton said the birds have become even more of a nuisance.

He said: “There are so many just hovering and preying on the rubbish and people’s food.

“They’ve tried to swipe food frommeas I’ve been walking down the road.

“They have definitely become more scavenging as the city has got dirtier.”

The hot spell is only expected to last for a day, with temperatures forecast to plummet back down to 18C today and 15C for the rest of the week, with thunder storms likely.