A team of Russian developers has been taken on a sightseeing tour of South Coast seafronts to pick up ideas for their own resort.

The delegation from company Peterburgstroy Skanska was shown around Brighton, Eastbourne, Newhaven, Shoreham and Littlehampton to give them a taste of Sussex engineering prowess.

The company wants to transform a barren seafront, near St Petersburg, into a residential, commercial and leisure development, with a yachting marina for up to 200 boats and high quality private accommodation of 600 apartments aimed at the country's growing business elite.

The developers were so impressed with constructions on the South Coast, it hired Brighton-based engineer Jon Orrell and architect Mike Goodchild from Morgan Carn to work on the project.

Valery Gutovsky, the company's vice president, told The Argus he was considering naming the resort New Brighton in tribute to its South Coast designers.

Speaking at Brighton Marina, he said: "This is a great hydrotechnical structure which is strong and big enough to protect boats from big waves in the ocean and bad weather.

"Our marina will be like Brighton's but a bit smaller. We want to draw the best from the South Coast marinas and we need to attract experienced Western architects and consultants because this is a unique project.

"New Brighton is a good idea for the name."

But there will be differences between the two developments, prompted by the Russian site's icy climate.

The area designated for New Brighton freezes for many months of the year with average temperatures about minus 5C (23F). Sometimes they fall as low as minus 30C (minus 22F).

Specialists from Norway have been drafted in to ensure the Russian marina will be able to function in low temperatures.

Mr Orrell of Brighton and Hove-based consulting engineers Hemsley Orrell, which made its name working on Brighton Marina, Shoreham Harbour and the Palace Pier, said he was up-beat about the development.

He said: "We're going to see a few more marinas then we're into the design phase. We are advising them on the shape of the layout of the marina and buildings and the type of construction they might attempt.

"There are significant ice pressures so they will have to make sure it doesn't crack up."