Hundreds of Christmas lights have been dumped in the bin by workmen under orders from a council.

Brighton and Hove Council has been urging residents to help cut waste by recycling their Christmas trees.

But instead of saving the festive light bulbs for next year, officers told the workers to bin them.

Traders and passers-by in George Street, Hove, were shocked to see contractors removing the 600 bulbs from the festive decorations and throwing them away.

The Father Christmas display, which cost £3,000 to install and take down, was funded by contributions from Hove Business Association and Brighton and Hove Council and included light bulbs worth £150.

Keith Bryden, chairman of the association, said: "They should definitely not be thrown away. They should be recycled.

"If there was a storage problem we should have been approached and we would have found somewhere to store them."

Tory councillor Garry Peltzer Dunn asked a council meeting: "Isn't this a poor example to set when the council's policy should be to discourage waste and provide value for money?"

Culture Cabinet councillor Ian Duncan said the work was carried out by Seeboard rather than council staff.

He said because the bulbs were up for eight weeks in all weathers their life expectancy at the end of the holiday period was short.

When asked if the bulbs could have been given to voluntary groups, Mr Duncan said the council could not be involved in dealing with second-hand electrical equipment.

A Seeboard spokeswoman said: "The lamps were discarded in accordance with instructions issued to us by Brighton and Hove Council."

A council spokesman said: "Of course recycling and donation to charity were considered but there are problems with both.

"Recycling of bayonet-fitting light bulbs is simply not available. We're concerned about giving them to charity shops in case anyone is injured fitting them or they cause electrical faults.

"This is the safest, cheapest course of action, although it's hard to make people understand."