A new £1.5 million nightclub is to open in Brighton after being granted a licence despite opposition from residents.

People living near the proposed venue on the seafront feared the club would lead to extra noise and disturbance from late-night revellers.

But club operator Po Na Na was yesterday granted a drinks licence for the venue at the Aquarium Terraces in Madeira Drive after a four-day hearing at Lewes Crown Court .

The club, which will have a 1,040 capacity, could be open by the end of the year and will be one of the biggest on the South Coast.

The company successfully appealed against a decision by Brighton magistrates to refuse a late-night alcohol licence.

Judge David Rennie, who sat on the case with two magistrates, granted the licence with strict conditions, which he hoped would "keep a lid" on late-night trouble.

These included installing a CCTV link to the police station and only serving drinks in shatter-proof glasses.