People living near Norfolk Square in Brighton gave a collective sigh of relief when a ban on street drinking came into force earlier this month.

But anyone passing the area since then will have seen the problem is still as bad as ever.

Drunks congregate in the area, often scaring people with their threatening and unpleasant behaviour.

They flout the booze ban openly, have sex in the square, urinate against trees and fight each other.

Police decided to adopt a policy of warning and educating street drinkers for the first month.

However, the scenes there are so disgusting they should be tempted to go in sooner and round up the suspects.

It's not easy for police who are already overstretched and face criticism from some residents for picking on the vulnerable.

But tackling street drinking and its associated violence has to be a high priority for officers now they have the power.

Street drinkers who want help are able to get it but all too often they would rather stay as they are. This makes the people they approach vulnerable rather than them.

Other cities have found street-drinking bans have been generally effective in reducing trouble by boozers. Brighton and Hove can do the same.