'Dirty Old Town' – Man's video message to every Brighton and Hove councillor

Paul Price, 56, from Moulsecoomb, has been taking pictures of graffiti, rough sleepers and tents in Brighton for two months.

He made them into a video with the classic Pogues song as a backing track before sending it to all 49 members of the city council.

He said: “Hello councillors, with council tax as high as £3,000 per year for some, what are your comments on this video that I made?

“It shows some of the scenes a tourist can enjoy around Brighton – the Dirty Old Town.

“I am thinking of posting this on some travel sites, a kind of promotional video to attract more visitors.”

Mr Price said that while shooting the video he caught people spraying graffiti in broad daylight.

He also saw people openly taking drugs in the streets and antisocial behaviour in front of families.

His message to the council adds: “Graffiti on almost every surface, tent shanty-towns in the streets, rows of beggars masquerading as entrenched street sleepers and of course, drug-addled zombies and alcoholic street-drinkers loitering and engaging in extremely antisocial behaviour.

“That is what YOU have helped Brighton to become.”

Pictures in the five-minute long video range from graffiti on shop fronts to tents on the streets.

The video ends with a man in a football shirt, who is holding a two litre bottle of liquid and attempting a rendition of Be Bop A Lula by Gene Vincent.

Councillor Steve Bell, Conservative leader at the council, said his party will work with the council to address the issue.

He said: “As we arrive at the height of the tourist time of the year, the cleanliness of the city is paramount as it represents all of us. There’s no doubt that over the past months we have seen more graffiti and rubbish especially in public areas and I would call on the council to address this problem.

“Now is the time for action, not rhetoric.”

Cllr Bell said his party will support the council in providing more money for Cityclean, its cleaning service.

Responding to the video, council leader Nancy Platts said a clean and safe city is the responsibility of us all.

She said: “We all want a city we can be proud of and are happy to live and work in.

"Unfortunately, at present Brighton & Hove seems to be being blighted by a rising tide of graffiti and other anti-social behaviour as depicted in Mr Paul Price’s video.

"The finger may be being pointed at the council for not doing enough, and yes we need to do more.

"But keeping our city clean, safe and free from graffiti, on-street tent dwellers, drugs users, street drinkers and beggars, is not only the council’s, but everyone’s responsibility.

"This includes the police, community groups, businesses, homeless organisations, residents and visitors.

"We’re already starting to work with utility companies to clean up their electricity boxes and will soon be asking private owners to clean graffiti off their buildings. We will be doing the same to the areas we have responsibility for.

"We also remove tents, especially when they are pitched in places that are dangerous for the user and the public. We follow guidelines agreed with the police and other agencies and will always address anti-social behaviour. We have a welfare first approach and always look after vulnerable people in need on our streets.

"Our dedicated enforcement officers do their best to clamp down on street drinkers and drug users, but this is only a deterrent and not a solution. It’s a key area where we need police backing.

"It’s no secret that our Government budget has been slashed by £100 million in the last 10 year which has had a major impact on our ability to tackle some of these issues.

"I, and am sure the police hope, our new Prime Minister delivers on his promise to hire 20,000 new police officers while turning his back on austerity.

"That alone would go a long way to ensuring we have a better, cleaner, safer city."