A seafront bar that changed its name after failing to meet food hygiene standards has been fined for fly-tipping.

Varsity, in East Street, Brighton, was renamed last year after its predecessor The Prodigal was fined £8,000 for failing an environmental health inspection.

Now the bar, still run by the same company, has been found guilty of illegally dumping rubbish.

Brighton and Hove City Council prosecuted manager Amit Patni for waste offences.

Mr Patni admitted in court that he and his staff left 30 bin bags of trade waste in nearby Brills Lane over a period of three days at the end of February. Seagulls attacked the bags, leaving litter strewn all over the road.

Michael Logue, an enforcement officer for Cityclean, the council's waste and recycling service, said: "This is very antisocial behaviour by the club.

"A large amount of litter blowing through city streets is caused by traders either dumping waste in the wrong place, or at the wrong time, so it is exposed to scavenging birds and animals.

"It's quite extraordinary that there are still some businesses who think that dumping their trade waste in the street is acceptable. Trade waste should only ever be placed on pavements when collections are imminent.

"Dumping trade waste is a criminal offence, and businesses who fail to have a licensed waste contractor are breaking the law."

The council does not collect trade waste.

Mr Patni was fined £500 and ordered to pay council costs of £750 at Brighton Magistrates' Court. The business has been given 14 days to pay.

Varsity is owned by the Barracuda Group Ltd.

In May 2001 the company was successfully prosecuted for a similar incident of fly-tipping.

Last August it was fined £8,000 for failing to meet food hygiene standards.

A surprise visit from the city council's environmental health officers found the floor behind kitchen equipment had not been cleaned and was contaminated with food debris. Maintenance work in the kitchen had not been carried out, ventilation was poor and food management systems had not been followed. The pub had already received a warning from health inspectors.

Barracuda later apologised for the offences and said disciplinary action had been taken against members of staff.

The pub later closed for a refit and was renamed, which Barracuda said was a rebranding exercise that had been planned for a long time.

A larger kitchen was built and the firm said staff would be sent on extra training sessions.

Established in 2000, the Barracuda group owns more than 190 pubs and bars across the country A spokesman for the group said: "This happened because a contractor had not emptied our full waste bins on a Saturday. We placed the Sunday waste in plastic bags alongside those four bins, expecting them to be collected on the Monday and that's why we were prosecuted."

Do you know of any other businesses that are dumping rubbish across Sussex? Call The Argus on 01273 544533 or email news@theargus.co.uk.