One of Eastbourne's two gay pubs could be demolished after failing to shake off its image as a drugs den.

Landlord Kevin Stevens said he had been unable to rid Buttons in Langney Road of its unsavoury reputation since taking over last June.

Now the Victorian building, formerly the Rose and Crown, might be redeveloped into flats.

It was closed in 1998 after police uncovered a web of crime and drug activity on the premises.

Mr Stevens, 38, tried to transform its tarnished image but said he was fighting a losing battle.

He said: "I took over hoping to make a go of it by getting rid of the riff-raff, but unfortunately things just haven't worked out.

"It will always be associated with its bad past, even though in the six months I have been in charge we haven't had any trouble."

He hopes that plans to build a three-storey block of flats will revive the area.

Council planners will consider the scheme on Tuesday.

Mr Stevens said: "I think the plans are a winner. It's a prime brownfield site, something which the Government says it is keen to have developed for housing. And I think it will benefit other residents because they will have a fantastic set of flats nearby, which would make their places a real selling point."

Local people have welcomed the plan.

Yvonne Burrell, of Pevensey Road Neighbourhood Association, said: "None of us in the area wants a pub which will attract undesirable elements, so on the face of it, this plan for new flats seems like a good one."

If the redevelopment goes ahead it will leave Eastbourne with one gay pub, The Hartington in Cavendish Place.