A local council has been forced to take action after locals complained about the state of a playground with rusted equipment so old residents complained it resembled "Chernobyl".

The playground along Weston Shore Promenade in Southampton had been heavily criticised over the years from local residents voicing their grievances online, branding it "a disgrace" with one even questioning whether they'd filmed HBO's Chernobyl there as it looked "remarkably similar".

The derelict playground was in such a poor state of repair, the only items that remained included a rusted climbing frame, one small seesaw and a swing set without chains.

Locals blamed the local council for allowing the playground to fall in such "decrepitude" after there was "nothing left" besides a "manky old sand pit".

Southampton City Council has now bowed to public pressure and removed the playground but it has left the only accessible waterfront areas in the Hampshire city looking bare.

The playground was located on Weston Shore which is the single remaining beach in the city which locals had described as being a "eyesore".

It has now finally been removed by the council after being left in disrepair for two years causing an unsightly vision among the city's only remaining beach.

Graham Westerling, a local resident who has lived in the area with his family since the 1920's and had used the playground frequently both as a child and with his children, said: "I believe that its current decrepitude is council policy," the 77 year old said of the park's previous condition.

"They have built a new playground across the road and see the old one on the shore as wasteful.

"The park has been changed many times since I first went there in the late 40s."

Westerling, who previously worked as a toolmaker and hovercraft designer and is now retired, added how the area has grown worse over time.

He explained: "The shore has been our playground for all of that time," the retired toolmaker and hovercraft designer said.

"The remains of the park are shabby but the area is still well used. When the ice cream van quits I'll know we're in trouble."

Local resident Julie Bishop, a retired contracts manager, also enjoyed the playground which she would take her young granddaughter to.

Bishop, 67, recently visited the area where the playground once was saying "it's not a park anymore.

"There's just nothing left here apart from a manky old sand pit," she said.

"It used to be but they have just taken everything away, it's just an area on the seafront. There's nothing here - it's a bit of an eye sore," Bishop added.

The council recently said the park was only closed because the equipment was being repaired.

Weston resident, Robert Stead sent a letter to the local paper regarding the playground saying that as "a resident of the Weston Estate, I know how much residents value our shore.

"Clearly something not shared by the Southampton council, who are only too happy to neglect it in favour of their other pet projects in the city."

Council leader Lorna Fielker said that a new play area would be built nearby and that the "play area was closed as the old equipment was no longer safe and beyond repair."

He added: "The council has already run a public consultation on a proposal for a new and exciting play area close by in the field adjacent to Weston Parade, we are finalising plans to build this, and we look forward to announcing the installation date in the new year."