A village was given a rude awakening when plans were announced for an adult entertainment venue.

Neighbours in Rottingdean woke yesterday to find planning notices advertising what looked like official proposals for a late-night lap dancing club.

It was enough to rile many residents who did not relish the prospect of a late-night den of iniquity in their genteel suburb.

Weird goings-on are nothing new in Rottingdean, upon which the comedy series The League Of Gentlemen is allegedly based.

There is already a sauna and one resident hosts discreet kinky parties at his home.

Lap dancing, however, proved just too saucy for people's sensibilities.

Talk spread round the village of dancing girls and seedy shows ruining the character of the neighbourhood.

Rottingdean councillor Lynda Hyde was quick to respond when she heard of the plans for a former garage showroom in West Street on behalf of D Docland UK Services.

She said: "If someone wants to put a lap dancing club on the site we shall have to look very carefully at the design of the poles.

"I shall be surprised if this application gets any further than appearing on a few lamp posts."

Few, it seemed, took note of the date.

The posters looked convincing with Brighton and Hove City Council's logo and the design of an official planning application notice.

They even said the venue had a proposed 2am licence.

Only checks with the council's planning department revealed it was an April Fool's Day prank.

Many people were taken in by the stunt and called The Argus to complain.

Rottingdean has been the butt of pranksters' jokes many times before.

On April 1 last year, jokers put up signs saying the village was twinned with Dodge City.

On another occasion, planning notices appeared saying an historic windmill was to be turned into a Chinese restaurant.

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: "We do not have any record of such an application.

"People only need to look at the date and take this notice with a pinch of salt."

Members of staff at Brighton and Hove City Council fell for an April Fool's Day joke.

They were told there was free food being served in the canteen at King's House, Hove, where new caterers had taken over.

They dashed up only to find they had become victims of April 1 since the food was its normal price.