Police have launched a summer blitz on drunken thugs to slash violence in the city centre.

Officers will be kitted out with mountain bikes and head cameras so they can quickly ride through crowds to video brawls and antisocial behaviour.

Sussex Police believes the initiative will help the force catch and prosecute successfully more violent offenders.

PCs will be able to race to the scene of incidents quickly and begin filming while they wait for back-up if they find themselves outnumbered.

Images taken from the cameras could be used to track down yobs who flee the scene while footage will be used in court to nail those involved in fights.

Senior officers hope the initiative will make Brighton and Hove's busy bar district a no-go zone for troublemakers and act as a deterrent to thugs.

And they believe it will also encourage more offenders to plead guilty at the first opportunity in court when they are shown the footage of their moments of madness.

This should save police and court time as well as tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money every year.

Inspector Bill Whitehead, of Sussex Police, said: "The seafront is virtually pedestrianised and there are times when it becomes very busy and quite slow.

"From the policing point of view the alleyways and cut-throughs do cause issues policing wise.

"Criminals can disappear down the side streets. It can be difficult to get vehicles round there to follow people and bikes allow you to do that. They allow us to keep up with any runners.

"It's an old adage that a picture tells a thousand words. Magistrates can clearly see what's happening with very little argument regarding who was there and what they were doing.

"The cameras help modify people's behaviour at the scene. It results in people applying their own levels of self restraint.

"It's a fantastic evidential tool."

Head cameras have been introduced elsewhere in Brighton and Hove this year. They are already used by door staff at various night clubs in the city but have never before been paired with officers on bikes.

Five officers will take to the streets in the area home to Brighton's major night spots.

It includes West Street, the seafront and Madiera Drive and runs from St James Street to Bedford Square in Hove.

Sven Rufus, a city councillor for Regency Ward which includes West Street, said: "I think it's very useful to be able to gather evidence in this way so the police can get more definitive proof of what's happening on the streets.

"I have concerns about the surveillance society and the fact there's plenty of cameras at the moment.

"I think it can have positive effects but wonder if it's necessary given the level of surveillance already there."

Bicycling police were first used on the seafront last year after reports of people drug dealing in the area. They have now been made a permanent summer fixture.

Bikes have proved popular with police officers who say it helps them interact with the public unlike travelling in cars or vans.

The cameras will help them prosecute offenders involved in large-scale disturbances such as those that erupted at North Street bar Saqqara last November.

Bottles were thrown at officers who used captor spray to control 100 thugs.

Money for the headcams has come from the Home Office to help tackle antisocial behaviour.

They are described as similar to camcorders but instead of being hand held are mounted to the officer's head and wired into a battery pack worn on the belt.

What do you think? Will the new headcams make a difference?