A hole in the ground which no one will admit owning is worrying parents who fear their children will fall into it.

A manhole cover was removed six weeks ago from the corner of Port Hall Road and Port Hall Street, Brighton, and the hole underneath was left uncovered for a month.

Two weeks ago a paving slab and a traffic cone were placed over it but parents say it still poses a danger to children because they have to step into the road to walk around it.

Drivers use Port Hall Road as a rat-run to reach London Road and parents are worried a child could be hit by a car. Stanford Infants and Stanford Junior schools are nearby.

Who owns the hole remains a mystery as no public authority or utility firm will admit to being responsible for it.

Brighton and Hove City Council contacted EDF Energy on July 11, believing it was the electricity firm's property, and demanded it be fixed.

But EDF said its workers had inspected the hole and the site belonged to a cable television company, although it did not know which one.

Rebecca Nicoll, 35, of Port Hall Road, said her daughter Eloise, two, comments on the hole every time they walk past. She said: "Eloise always says, 'That hole's still there Mummy'. I don't think it's safe and I would like to see the slab replaced with a suitable cover."

Residents of the two roads repeatedly rang Brighton and Hove City Council asking for the hole to be filled in. They even placed a wheelie bin over it for a few weeks to stop people falling into it.

Paediatric nurse Sara Willis, who lives in Port Hall Street, had to walk her children Toby, four and Thea, ten, past the hole every morning on the way to Thea's school, Stanford Juniors.

She said: "I had to stop Toby scootering into it or trying to investigate it. Now it is a bit of a hazard for people with buggies because you can't get round it."

A spokesman for the council said: "We have made several requests for EDF to fix the hole. However, they have now said it is not their property"

"In light of this it will be quicker for the council to fix it and then try and find the responsible company. Unfortunately the taxpayer will have to foot the £300 bill if the responsible company does not come forward."