Residents are demanding action at an eyesore industrial estate following a spate of fires and vandalism.

Since Sunblest Bakeries moved out of the site in Woodingdean, Brighton, three years ago, it has fallen into decline.

Residents want the Brighton and Hove Council-owned land tidied up and say rats have also been seen in the area.

The council has leased the site to the Midlands-based property development company St Modwen Developments.

Woodingdean Tory councillor Dee Simson, who has received numerous complaints about the demise of the site, said: "We want to see this area cleaned up as soon as possible.

"There have been fires and vandalism and residents are fed up with this eyesore, especially after the vandalism recently.

"We want it cleared and developed as soon as possible."

One of the firms which has moved in temporarily is Brighton Car Repairs and Stores, which still operates from premises in Bexhill Road. It leases its site from St Modwen Developments.

On Saturday night a car was deliberately crashed into the gates of the yard and set alight. Other vehicles inside were vandalised.

Cars have also been using the Brighton and Hove Council land opposite Bexhill Road as a race track.

At the weekend, wooden tables for walkers who start and finish walks across the Downs at that point were smashed.

Fire services have been called to the former Sunblest site on at least two occasions to deal with fires believed to have been caused by blazing tyres dumped in the old bakery.

Margaret Denyer, 69, of Langley Crescent, whose home backs on to the old Jaycee Furniture site said: "The whole of Woodingdean is fed up with this filthy, disgusting site. Woodingdean is going downhill because of it.

"I used to work at Jaycee and it was then a lively working site. Now it is being used as an unofficial rubbish tip."

There was a recent outcry when gipsies started breaking up their old caravans on the site and using the area to sort scrap.

St Modwen Developments have put in several applications to develop the land with industrial units to transform it into a thriving employment area, but these have been rejected.

The company currently has another application for industrial units before the council.

In April, Brighton and Hove councillors rejected a plan by the Downs Baptist Church to build a church on the site, saying it had been designated for industrial and employment use.