OUTRAGED residents have slammed the “disrespectful” actions of a man who pitched his tent at a city centre war memorial.

The tent appeared at the monument in Old Steine in Brighton on Wednesday and remained there for much of the day.

When The Argus visited the site shortly after midday it was pitched at the foot of the memorial.

The monument was built in 1922 to remember the 2,597 men and three women of Brighton who fell in the First World War. Their names are inscribed on it.

One neighbour, Gary Farmer, is the director of Brighton Language College in Old Steine.

The 49-year-old said: “For me, the situation with the pitching of tents within the city is not acceptable and the council is not doing enough.

“Whether that be moving them on – without a 28-day notice period – or finding a solution and providing shelter, it feels nothing is being done.

“Everybody wants to speak about it but people can be scared to share their opinion because opinions become polarised and they are shouted down. But the problem is not going away,

“Brighton does attract rough sleepers. You have the Pavilion and the pier, but around it people see tents and graffiti.

“I bring money to the city through tourism but this is what visitors see when they come here. It’s not a criticism of rough sleepers, but the council needs to come up with a solution.

Conservative Councillor Dawn Barnett said: “I think it’s an absolute disgrace that someone would pitch their tent there. They have shown no respect for our soldiers and no respect for the dead.

“The tent should have been removed immediately. There is a campsite over in East Brighton where people can go.”

Another large tent stood in Prince’s Place, Brighton, for almost two months before being issued with a notice of intention to remove by Brighton and Hove City Council.

The notice told the occupant that “if you wish to camp in the city there is an authorised campsite situated at Sheepcote Valley, Wilson Avenue”.

The tent has since moved.

A council spokesman said: “We are aware of this [war memorial] tent and our team will be visiting the site.

“We have also informed our commissioned Street Outreach Service who will also go along and offer support.

“The council works with partner agencies and the voluntary sector to take a city-wide approach to ending the need for people to rough sleep.

“The best way to deal with this effectively is to support vulnerable people off the streets and into services that can help them rebuild their lives, which is what is happening in this case.

“Information on tents is gathered by commissioned services and partner

agencies across the city every day.

“A weekly partner review meeting looks at where there are tents, what support has been offered and what action needs to be taken.

“The decision to move on tents is always carefully considered.

“However, the council has limited powers to move people on and legal action can be time consuming.

“Before taking action, we look at the individual needs of people sleeping rough.”