A Brighton bar wants to become one of the first to use liberalised licensing laws allowing it to open throughout the night.

Vavoom in Old Steine would stop short of controversial 24-hour drinking but wants the option of opening until 5am.

Staff believe they would provide an alternative night out for people who do not want to go to clubs but are left with nowhere else to go after 11pm.

Owner Alan Barrett hopes to give people a bar they can visit later in the evenings, after making a planning application to Brighton and Hove City Council to remove restrictions which only allow the venue to open from 11am to 11pm.

The application is one of the first examples of how publicans are likely to use the relaxed laws which caused controversy when first proposed.

Opponents believed the laws would create "urban savages" and turn town centres into all-night no-go areas, encouraging more people to binge drink and boosting alcohol-related crime.

However, The Argus reported last month that no pubs had applied to open 24 hours a day as many opponents feared.

The council did not receive a single application for round-the-clock licensing from the city's clubs and bars.

Instead, licensees suggested they would welcome more flexible closing times, allowing them to cater for more discerning drinkers who wanted to stay out later.

Mr Barrett said: "At the moment people are rushing with their drinks because we have last orders at 11pm. To suddenly be chucked out on the street then is when trouble can happen.

"With later hours people will be able to have a more relaxed time and can come down here later in the evening.

"We might not take any more money. I don't think people will drink more but the demand is there. People can decide to stay in the bar for a different type of evening."

Vavoom opened in January last year, with a capacity for about 100 people, and has five guest rooms above the bar for people staying in Brighton for a night or a weekend.

If the latest application is approved, Mr Barrett is hoping to go to the city's licensing committee to request licensing hours until 5am at the weekends, particularly during the summer months.

He said: "We get a lot of European people in here and they are astounded that we are closing at 11pm.

"At the moment, a lot of the city's clubs are open until 4am, so if we were serving until 5am, people will have an opportunity to come and sit down with their friends. We will be offering non alcoholic drinks too."

Council planners are due to make a decision on Vavoom's request next month.

A council spokesman said: "If the restrictions are removed it means a business can apply for extended opening hours through the licensing committee.

"The owners could apply for 24-hour licensing and committee members will then make a decision after considering the environmental impact and consulting with the police."