Beach huts at the centre of a row over anti-social behaviour remain standing - despite an order from the council for the huts' operators to remove them.

Following reports of drug-taking, drinking and rowdiness among the huts on the beach adjacent to Brunswick Terrace, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council ordered 25 of the huts to be removed at the end of last summer.

As reported in the Echo, however, the structures were earlier in the summer placed in the same spot ahead of the summer season, eliciting anger and frustration among hoteliers on the street.

An appeal was lodged by the huts' operators against the council's removal order, and was due to be heard at Weymouth County Court on Monday, June 26. However, the hearing did not go ahead.

"We found out that the court date had been cancelled because they couldn't find a judge," said Mickey Jones of DJ Property, which owns and operates the huts. "So what happens next is that they try and find another gap in the court schedule - but that could take months."

Dorset Echo:

FAMILY BUSINESS: 'Ridiculous' to suggest beach huts are cause of anti-social behaviour, says owner Mickey Jones

In the meantime, Mr Jones said he had no intention of removing any of the huts. "My family's been in business on the beach for over 50 years," he told the Echo. "If you look back at old photos of Weymouth, the chalets used to be three rows deep. It's ridiculous to suggest we should get rid of that one row."

He stressed that anti-social behaviour was rife throughout Weymouth, and did not spring from the presence of the huts.

"It's a policing problem," he said. "Drugs and paraphernalia keep getting found, but the police don't have the resources to deal with it. It's ludicrous to blame chalets that have been there for decades for a modern problem. We are the victims in all this."

Alison Hoy, who with her husband has The View guesthouse on Brunswick Terrace since October last year, said that she hadn't noticed any particular bad behaviour within the huts. "Maybe it's because we're relatively new, but it hasn't been a problem," she said, adding that the only issue she had noticed was the smell of marijuana emanating from the structures.

"My husband walks the dogs along the front every day, and he hasn't seen much anti-social behaviour," Ms Hoy noted.

The borough council meanwhile confirmed that the judicial appeal against its order had been postponed, but declined to comment further.

"This is an ongoing dispute so we cannot comment on it at the present time," a spokesman said.