Relations between certain factions in Brighton and Hove are already chillier than an ice cold pint of lager.

Now they could go sub-zero after a pub was renamed the City of Brighton.

Hove councillor Brian Oxley almost choked on his pint when he heard the Pig in Paradise, in Queen's Road, Brighton, was trading under a new identity.

He immediately asked: "What about the 'and Hove' bit?"

Coun Oxley said many people in his ward were worried Hove was being sidelined in favour of Brighton.

He said: "It would have been more in keeping if they had included the words 'and Hove'. I hope the pub owners will take that into account and perhaps amend the signs accordingly.

"There is a genuine feeling that Hove is going to become sidelined and is perceived as a bolt-on piece to Brighton."

The pub, which has undergone a £90,000 revamp, was last night reopened by Brighton and Hove Mayor Andy Durr.

He said: "I am sure no offence was meant to Hove when they decided on the name."

Last December, shortly before the towns were granted joint city status, a row erupted when campaigners claimed the identity of Hove was being hijacked by Brighton.

The Campaign for a Better Brighton and Hove accused the council, The Place To Be Campaign and other groups of trying to "trash" Hove in favour of Brighton.

Kate Johnson, marketing director of Brighton pub chain C-Side, which runs the City of Brighton, said: "A pub name needs to roll off the tongue so it needs to be reasonably short. It's a traditional pub in the centre of Brighton.

"We are saving the Hove bit for a pub we are planning to open in Hove later this year, called the City of Hove."

At present C-Side has 24 licensed premises, all but one in Brighton.