TWO of the men behind Brighton and Hove Albion’s promotion to the Premier League have received the city’s highest honour at a council ceremony.

Manager Chris Hughton and chairman Tony Bloom were made awarded freedom of the city in recognition of their success at the club.

It comes after 100,000 people partied on the streets of the city at a victory parade on Sunday in celebration of the club’s promotion to the top flight football.

In a packed chamber at Brighton Town Hall councillor Pete West presented the men with the title watched by their families, after councillors, yesterday wearing Albion scarves and waving flags, unanimously voted to pass the motion to award the honour.

Chairman Mr Bloom said the award was a testament to the work of the club and support of the fans.

He said: “This award is not just for me but all the amazing hard work and dedication of all our staff at Brighton and Hove Albion and all of our amazing fans.

“The scenes when we were promoted and at the victory parade where 100,000 of our fans turned up shows how much our football club means to the city of Brighton and Hove.

“It really means so much to so many of us and I’m very proud to be chairman and owner and to realise the dreams for all of our fans and all of the people in the city.

“We will do our very best over the coming years with Chris and our players to remain in the Premier League for as long we can and we know the huge contribution it means to the city in economic terms - so I’d like to say it’s a huge honour.”

Mr Hughton thanked the city for warmly welcoming him and his family.

He said: “Ninety-nine per cent of my life is about football but its also about family life and living.

“I thoroughly enjoy living in Brighton and Hove, it’s a great bargaining power for the club.

“We have a wonderful facility our chairman provided for us, but we also have a wonderful city to live in, which we hope will be a big pull next season.

“Thank you very much, its something that’s very humbling particularly for somebody that just been here for over two years.”