This is a picture of the damage in a £1 million council-owned Victorian mansion days after squatters left the property.

Huge holes in walls, ripped up floorboards and plastic bags of faeces make up just some of the wreckage left behind.

The destruction and debris was seen first-hand by The Argus after a group of squatters were evicted from the property in Preston Road, Brighton.

Overflowing rubbish bags, overturned mattresses and sections of plaster made up just some of the carnage.

Brighton and Hove City Council, which hoped to use the property to house homeless people, believe it will cost tens of thousands of pounds to restore the property.

Squatters moved into the property, which is divided into 15 flats with a further four self-contained bungalows to the rear, in July after it had been empty for a year.

Video cameras and movement detectors have been fitted inside the property to record any intruders.

The building, which is one of the 216 empty council-owned properties in the city, was formerly used as temporary accommodation for those on the housing register.

Read the full story and see more pictures of the damage in today's Argus.