Millions of television viewers could see a major Sussex eyesore blown up.

The derelict Blue Circle cement works at Upper Beeding could become the star of the new Channel 4 series Demolition.

The show is searching for the ugliest building in Britain and the site near Shoreham has already been nominated as a blot on the landscape.

People who have lived in its crumbling shadow since it closed in 1987 said they will be there to watch its demise if it is chosen.

Mrs Ellie Compton, 41, of nearby Dacre Gardens, said: "It has become a real eyesore. If it is voted the ugliest building, I will be there with the rest of my family to watch it go. We will stand up on the hill behind and I will get the video camera out to film it."

Neighbour Mrs Jo Carpenter, 32, said: "It sounds like a great idea if Channel 4 is going to get someone to blow it up for free.

"We have been told it could costs millions to demolish it because there is supposed to be asbestos on the site."

The four-part documentary is due to be screened in the autumn but nominations for the nation's most-hated building close on March 31.

The show will be hosted by Kevin McCloud, presenter of Channel 4's popular lifestyle show Grand Designs.

Julie Hammond, 40, also lives in the cottages in Dacre Gardens, which onced housed staff from the works.

She used to work in the office there and her father John, 72, was a dynamite blaster at the quarry.

Mrs Hammond said: "We will have mixed feelings if it is blown up but something needs to be done with it.

"There have been plans for it to become a ski centre, a site for a waste incinerator and a hotel or housing.

"It is also one of the sites suggested as a home for Brighton and Hove Albion's new stadium.

"I would be happy with that as long as it was used for leisure and did not become a rubbish tip or incinerator."

Joyce Shaw, chairman of Upper Beeding Parish Council, said she would not mind seeing the derelict buildings demolished.

She said: "We have lived with the site as it is for 14 years so we can live with it a bit longer.

"I want something there that will help Adur as well as ourselves."

A shortlist of the most hated buildings will be drawn up by experts including George Ferguson, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Plans for what will replace them will be carefully considered along with the feasibility and impact of demolishing each candidate.

Viewers will be asked to vote on which of the eyesores they would like to see blown to pieces.

Mr Ferguson said: "Some buildings are an affront to our senses. This is a positive proposal aimed at repairing damaged places."

Kevin McCloud said: "Building should be about making spaces which make you feel like better human beings.

"I am looking forward to naming and shaming those buildings that do the exact opposite.

"The show is about creating awareness of what is good and bad architecture.

"It is not just about identifying the worst in design but also about encouraging the best."

To nominate an eyesore for destruction phone Demolition on 09013 263200 or vote online at www.channel4.com/life/microsites/D/demolition/