A legal bid to force binmen and street sweepers to clean a litter-strewn neighbourhood properly has failed on a technicality.

Residents had applied for an order forcing Brighton and Hove City Council to sort out the rubbish problem in St James's Street, Kemp Town - or face big fines.

But magistrates ruled the order could not be imposed because the specific items of litter they were complaining about when they launched the action more than a year ago had probably been removed.

Residents of the St James's Street area of Brighton said they were "incandescent" with the decision at a hearing in Brighton yesterday.

Janie Thomas of Charles Street, Brighton, who had testified that litter strewn across pavements stopped her from being able to wheel her grandson's buggy down the street, said: "If they knew it was impossible to serve a notice at the beginning, why didn't they say so, instead of us having to come here and waste valuable time?

"This whole thing was a complete farce."

Residents said piles of bags were continually left on pavements by local businesses and they had concerns about disease, vermin and smells, to which the council had repeatedly failed to respond.

But litter enforcement officers and operatives from Cityclean, the council's in-house cleansing department, said the streets were regularly patrolled and cleared.

Colin Franks, the chairman of the magistrates' bench, said: "We have no choice but to dismiss the case for a litter abatement order because that litter has obviously now been removed.

"We would like to add, however, that this has been a useful forum in which local residents have been able to make their feelings known regarding the cleanliness of the area.

"We hope that as a result there will be an even closer working relationship between the council and the residents.

"This might be a good foundation stone for better work together in the future."

Len Batten, who defended the council, said: "I will be making representations to senior officers on this matter."

Architectural consultant Trevor Scoble, 62, who represented the residents of St James's Street between Charles Street and Dorset Gardens, said: "This is a moral victory.

"The case has brought this issue into the public domain.

"We would have muddled on for years in this battle but this case brought the issue to a head.

"The heads of the council will have to now carry out positive action to relieve us of being knee-deep in rubbish, day in, day out."