A DISGRUNTLED resident has launched a petition to “save a seafront from neglect”.

Andrea Lewis, who lives in the Brunswick area in Hove, says parts of the seafront in Hove and Portslade are dangerous because of railings, fencing and shelters which are “falling apart”.

The 52-year-old said: “We’ve been walking a lot during lockdown and when you talk to people on the seafront they say everything looks awful and neglected.

“Some of the railings are corroded and there are bits literally hanging off in the air.

“The last straw for me was when I recently went for a walk to take some pictures on the promenade between Brunswick Square and Lansdowne Place.

“There was a little girl running and pushing a bike and I realised there was a corroded railing sticking out, which she would have ran straight into if I hadn’t screamed out and stopped her.

“It’s dangerous.”

Andrea also believes Brighton seafront is maintained to a better standard than in Hove and Portslade.

She said: “We cycled all the way to the Marina from Hove Lagoon and back and when you pass the Peace Statue you see that going east from the i360 it looks different and it’s quite a big divide.

“Even the fencing around our Peace Statue is crumbling away.

“The shelters on the promenade in Hove are all missing bits and are rusty and smelly, and not actually somewhere you would like to sit.”

Andrea has launched a petition for the city council to take action to repair seafront railings and furniture. So far her petition on the council website has received more than 200 signatures.

She said: “I was thinking that as the budget is tight, are there ways around it, such as with crowdfunding? If residents know what they can do to help, that is a discussion which should be in place.

“I think the main thing is, the longer they leave it the worse it will get and the more expensive it will be to fix. Lots of parts could be beyond repair.

“One of my questions is, what is being spent as a whole in Brighton and Hove on maintaining the seafront, and is there a difference in spending on the two areas?

“People are going out for walks on the seafront to feel better but the dereliction does not help.”

Brighton and Hove City Council were contacted for comment but did not respond.