A mayor has called for action to stop badgers meeting a bloody death on a busy highway.

Bob Carden, Mayor of Brighton and Hove, is concerned at the number of badgers seen dead at the side of the A27.

The road, sometimes known as the Brighton and Hove bypass, runs north of the city from Eastbourne to Worthing.

Coun Carden said: "This is the time of year that badgers are beginning to move around. I have just heard of two more corpses near the slip road to Asda.

"When I fought against the Brighton bypass I tried to get it as safe as possible, not only from the point of view of people but of wildlife. We need to get the Highways Agency to repair the fences."

Coun Carden lives in Mile Oak, Portslade, and has badger setts about 200 yards from his garden.

He said: "We can do without any more fatalities. This year the birth rate has been very low. I have only had one here. They are a protected species. We need to stop this slaughter."

A spokeswoman for the Highways Agency, which is responsible for the road, said ways of protecting the badgers were being considered.

She added the fencing near the A27 had originally been put up to protect saplings from rabbits and was due to be taken away.