People taking a popular tour of Brighton's sewers are being caught short because there is nowhere for them to go to the loo.

A public lavatory at the start of the hugely-popular tour is closed, leaving visitors to the Victorian sewers in the lurch.

The toilet on the Lower Esplanade is run by Brighton and Hove City Council, which said a broken pump had caused the closure.

Southern Water spokesman Geoff Loader, who guided the first of this year's tours, said many needed to use the toilet facilities before going down into the sewers.

He said: "If people want to cut out the middle man they are more than welcome but it is probably not appropriate."

Visitors to the sewers, who have been directed to loos on the Palace Pier, were not the only ones indisposed because of the shortage of public loos on the seafront.

Traders said it caused problems for dozens of people who flocked to the seafront during the busy bank holiday weekend, especially pensioners.

Peter Avery, who runs a cafe and take-away near the pier, said: "It is the centre of the town, the coaches drop people off there and the first thing they need to do is go to the toilet."

"Some people have been going to the toilet under the Palace Pier because there were no working lavatories nearby.

"I was not very happy about the smell during the weekend, it absolutely stank down here."

A council spokeswoman said the toilets had been shut for about a week because of a broken pump and would be repaired as soon possible.

She said: "As soon as the pumps are repaired and fixed back into the toilets they will be reopened and it is being treated as a priority."

Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Elgood said the city was desperately short of public lavatories because of cuts in spending.

He said: "There is a dire lack of public conveniences and washrooms in the city of Brighton and Hove."