The Government has said Brighton and Hove is a crack cocaine hotspot .

The city was one of only 37 areas in England selected for extra funding and help by the Home Office.

Most of the other crack priority areas are London boroughs or big cities with long-standing drug problems, such as Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol.

Brighton and Hove joined the list after recording high figures for the number of people arrested who tested positive for cocaine and crack cocaine or who had problems with the killer drug.

The city charted high figures for the number of people arrested for crack supply offences, the amount of crack seized by police and levels of theft and robbery in the city.

Home Office Minister Bob Ainsworth said Brighton and Hove would receive an extra £35,000 to fight the highly-addictive drug.

He said: "The same levels of crack use are not found nationwide and some communities are suffering far more than others.

"People living in the areas we have identified already know crack is a problem in their community and know only too well the crime that crack brings with it.

"Crack addicts live chaotic lifestyles, they commit crimes and crack houses bring fear and degradation to neighbourhoods."

Mr Ainsworth said the Government's "crack action plan" would be implemented in the city, with the support of the Drug Action Team.

The plan includes specially-designed programmes piloted in Brixton in London.

Dealers will be disrupted by raids on more "crack houses", from where the drug is often bought, and there will be an increased number of searches.

Meanwhile, school pupils will be warned about the dangers of the deadly drug.

Lessons in primary and secondary schools will highlight the close links between crack and gang culture and extreme violence.

The move comes amid fears that crack dealing is increasingly being seen as an attractive career option.