This neighbourhood was once a green and leafy oasis where gardeners tended their beloved allotments with pride.

But that was before the invasion.

Now plants and trees have been stripped bare as Mile Oak is infested with millions of caterpillars.

Residents say they are having to burn their clothes after coming into contact with the two-inch brown-tail moth caterpillars.

They carry poisonous barbs between their hairs which are known to cause major skin irritations, breathing problems, vomiting and blisters.

Neighbours say they have been waiting months for pest controllers from Brighton and Hove City Council to spray the area after contacting them last year.

Allotment-holders said the grubs were literally "dripping off the branches", living in hundreds of giant cocoons which can house up to 2,000 of them.

Raymond Collins said he found 12 cocoons in his back garden alone.

He said: "We are absolutely plagued with them. They have stripped every bramble, every tree, every bush and the council doesn't seem particularly interested.

"People have been smothered in the rash and bites and had to go to the doctor. Our bushes are usually covered in blackberries at this time of year, now they are just sticks it's a terrible state, it's like an arid desert.

"You're literally crunching on them under foot. There are millions and we're all suffering as a result."

Mr Collins said he had been calling environmental services to sort out the problem since last summer.

Instead, a one-page advice leaflet has been posted to people who are suffering a rash after coming into contact with the grubs.

Deirdre Marcantonio owns an allotment on the field behind Gorse Close. She said the rash was so bad she was having to burn clothes that had the caterpillars' barbs on them.

She said: "I'm smothered down one side in hundreds of spots and I can't tell you how irritating it is.

"It's down my face, down my neck, all the way down to my waist and it's so itchy you could tear yourself apart. It's driving me up the wall."

The council's pamphlet warns the caterpillars can cause "total defoliation" and suggests gloves, a hood, boots and even goggles should be worn when around them.

Windows should be closed and clothes should either be "disposed of" or boiled after touching the cocoons, it adds.

Mrs Marcantonio said: "We have ten cocoons on every bush and every tree and there isn't a leaf left on them.

"We were organic until three weeks ago but now we've had to spray the allotments and we have lost most of our crops.

"There are millions and millions of them thousands dripping from every branch. It's like they are going to a party."

Allotment-holders who have worked in the field for 20 years said they hadn't seen anything like it before and were angry nothing had been done.

Mrs Marcantonio said: "If a three-year-old child had this rash then something would have been done about it but because we are all old no one cares.

"If they'd come and sprayed earlier none of this would have happened."

The council blamed the delays in dealing with the caterpillars on a combination of weather, workloads and priorities.

A spokesman said: "We need to keep the problem in perspective.

"While they're a nuisance they're not a major threat and some councils don't even treat them at all."

Anyone with an infestation of brown-tail moth caterpillars in their garden can call the council on 01273 292187 to have the land sprayed.