Music festival Bognor Live has been scrapped after police feared it would pose a health and safety risk.

The open-air event was due to have taken place on August 3 and 4 with dozens of bands and musicians performing on the seafront.

But the main event has been scrapped and a last-minute bid is being made to organise a scaled-down festival using indoor venues and the grounds of a hotel.

The move comes in the wake of the chaos in Brighton and Hove when 250,000 people flooded into the city for Fatboy Slim's free beach party.

Bognor Live was never due to be as big and the best-known act booked for the event was The Brotherhood of Man.

But in a statement Arun District Council said it had refused a request for road closure orders for the seafront following police advice.

The council said the decision had been made on public safety grounds.

It is the second blow to music fans in the town after the organisers of the annual Rox music festival pulled out of the town after 11 years for a new venue at Fontwell Park racecourse.

The move followed complaints from traders after an estimated 60,000 people packed the seafront last summer for three days of live music.

Bognor Live was planned by Bognor Town Council as a family-style alternative to Rox.

A decision about a smaller event is expected to be announced on Wednesday.

The council said it hoped a smaller event would please residents and holidaymakers.

Superintendent Jim Hammond, head of Sussex Police's western division, said: "We have a duty to ensure public safety and will need to be satisfied events are safe and free from crime and disorder."