Binge-drinking in Brighton is costing the taxpayer £170,000 a year in police overtime alone, new figures reveal.

The figure is part of the estimated £500,000-a-year cost of policing Brighton's main entertainment spots in areas such as West Street, where up to 40 officers are on duty on Friday and Saturday nights.

The costs emerged as Brighton and Hove police's assessment of the new licensing laws was released. The force warns that policing the night-time economy is putting pressure on resources and cutting into other law enforcement.

Since the introduction of later opening hours, double the number of officers are on patrol in the city centre at weekends.

This means Sussex Police has been forced to relegate minor crimes in other areas of the city in its list of policing priorities.

Chief Inspector Lawrence Hobbs said: "There is no growth in police budget and so this will cut into the resources available for other policing services outside of the city centre.

"Overall, policing the night-time economy, linked to alcohol-related crime, is a large proportion of the fixed police budget.

"If people ring us on a Friday or Saturday night, we have a problem. We have to say all of our officers are tied up looking after West Street."

Last night, police said they were considering the use of Alcohol Disorder Zones, new powers that will force pubs and clubs to contribute funds to help tackle the effects of binge-drinking.

The powers will come into effect next year and Chief Insp Hobbs said it was one of the options being looked at.

The news comes after The Argus revealed that a proposal to stop new pubs and clubs from opening in the city centre would be drawn up by Brighton and Hove City Council next year.

Alex Matthews, manager of the Amsterdam Hotel in Marine Parade, Brighton, said not all venues should be punished.

He said: "In Kemp Town we are putting money into private security and have reduced alcohol-related crime and this needs to be taken into consideration. Those who are not adhering to best practice should be charged and it appears that all the problems are happening in one small area - West Street."

A spokesman for J D Wetherspoon, which runs three pubs in Brighton and Hove, said it was already paying for policing through taxes and that it opposed moves to force licensed premises to fork out more.

He said: "If pubs are open later at night, it is for the Government to arrange for the policing of that.

"Police should be funded by the taxpayer and not be turned into a private security firm."

The police report into the first year of late-night drinking will be discussed by the city council in the new year.

Police say the new legislation has brought benefits and drawbacks. While the law has given police more power to tackle problem venues, varying closing times has made it more difficult to manage resources.

Chief Insp Hobbs said that while the number of fines handed out for alcohol-related disorder had rocketed since pubs and clubs embraced later opening hours, serious violent offences had been falling.

However, this was attributed to extra officers and a different approach to policing.