Drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and a knife were siezed in a police clampdown on teenage tearaways.

The drink was seized from youngsters in Horsham town centre during the operation.

As well as the 85 litres of alcohol, officers seized cannabis, 607 cigarettes and a pocket knife during the move to cut anti-social behaviour and violent crime in the town.

There were also eight arrests for drugs, violence, drink-driving and public disorder-related crimes.

The crackdown saw officers walking the town's streets on Friday and Saturday nights between the end of November and the end of January.

They conducted 120 spot searches, often catching underage teenagers as they left off-licences with alcohol.

Officers found some had used the internet to get fake ID cards.

The operation, organised with Horsham District Council, is believed to have cut violent crime and criminal damage in the town by 24 per cent.

PC Graham Milner, who co-ordinated Operation Pecan, said officers had seized 27 litres of alcohol from youngsters on the streets during the first weekend.

He said: "This gave early indications of just how great the problem was."

Officers found dozens of youngsters gathering around the Christian Bookshop in South Street before drinking and getting into fights.

PC Milner said: "This venue is very popular with youths from Horsham and all outlying towns and on some nights up to 60 of them will congregate around there.

"It must be stressed the venue is very well run and there are at least four responsible adults present.

"But due to the fact youngsters are in such great numbers and from differing areas, this can cause little groups to form."

Although many off-licenses were well run, he said there were occasions when a sale had been made to an under-age person and some owners had been given warnings.

The crackdown followed public concerns about crime in the town centre.

Chief Inspector Sally Simmonds, commander for Horsham District, said: "Operation Pecan has proved to be a very worthwhile exercise, which we will be repeating in the future.

"It is our objective to ensure Horsham town centre remains a safe environment for people to visit and enjoy at weekends."