Bootleg booze runners have been accused of putting lives at risk by peddling cheap alcohol to children.

A ten-year-old boy was found unconscious in Bellingham Crescent on the Knoll Estate in Hove.

He recovered after being taken to hospital. Police chiefs have promised an investigation.

Superintendent Graham Cox and his deputy, Chief Inspector Stuart Harrison, were told of the incident at a community policing meeting.

One woman, who asked not to be be identified as her windows had already been smashed by airgun pellets, claimed: "Bootleggers are going abroad to buy cheap booze and bringing it back on to the estate to sell.

"We believe they are operating out of one or two lock-up garages.

"You see young children walking down the street with a bottle of vodka in one hand, a tin of lager in the other and a cigarette hanging out of their mouths."

The woman, who called an ambulance for the ten-year-old, said: "He was unconscious and unresponsive and he had vomit all over him. He stank of alcohol. The two with him were only about 14 and they had been drinking.

"I put the boy in the recovery position."

Mr Cox promised the incident would be investigated. He said: "Under-age drinking is a growing concern, but we were not aware bootleggers were operating in the area."