THE council says it is "sorry" for dirty seafront toilets which were described as being like an "ice rink of p***".

The public facilities on Hove seafront were branded a "health hazard" after the urinals overflowed, covering the floor in urine.

It was feared that a "child or old person" could fall over inside the Western Esplanade loos, just along the coast from Rockwater.

Brighton and Hove City Council apologised for the mess, citing a busy weekend of visitors as an explanation.

Pictures taken by The Argus show the floor covered in bodily fluids, with dirty footprints all across the tiles.

One visitor, who almost fell in the dirty liquid last Saturday, said it was hard to keep your footing on the "ice rink of p***".

The man, who did not wish to be named, said: "There was so much urine on the floor that I almost slipped over, it was like an ice rink of p***.

"It's a complete health hazard - an old person or a child could easily take a spill in there.

"Someone needs to get out and give these a clean as soon as possible."

It comes as the city council announced a £2.7 million investment to refurbish 11 of the busiest public toilets in the city - including Western Esplanade.

City Clean is also set to take over the day to day toilet cleaning from current contractor Healthmatic in January.

A council spokesman said: “We apologise for the condition of the Western Esplanade toilets over the weekend.

“Our contractor Healthmatic cleans the toilets at least four times a day. But on busy weekends these toilets are very heavily used and can at times become less tidy prior to a cleaner visiting the site.

“We announced recently that we will be spending £2.7 million on refurbishing 11 of the busiest public toilets in the city, and Western Esplanade is one of these.

“Our Cityclean team is taking over day to day toilet cleaning duties from our current contractor as of the end of this coming January."