Staggered pub opening times helped police prevent over zealous New Year celebrations getting out of hand.

Police were called to several city centre pubs in Brigton and Hove as arguments fuelled with alcohol threatened to get nasty. Officers broke up fights, including women fighting.

Inspector Helen West of Brighton police said: "It was a busy, but fairly orderly New Year in Brighton. The staggered pub opening times helped us because it meant people were not coming out of pubs and clubs at the same time"

Pubs were allowed to open from 10 am on New Year's Eve to 10pm on New Year's Day. Only a handful of pubs opened for 36 hours, but the flexibility allowed publicans to organise New Year parties into the early hours.

Some pubs closed at midnight, others at 1am, and some went on to 3am. The flexible licensing laws enabled an all night party at the Brighton Centre to go ahead.

The last of the all night revellers finally left the party at the Brighton Centre at 6 am. There was no trouble as they departed.

Inspector West said: "The event seemed to be pretty well organised"

There were 17 arrests for varying offences in Brigton and Hove from New Year's Eve to the early hours of New Year's Day, which meant all cells were completely full at Brighton police station, this morning.

The offences included possessing drugs, public order offences, robbery, and breach of bail conditions.

Two men were arrested for robbery outside the Brighton Centre after they threatened another male with a knife and stole cash. The victim identified his attackers to police, who arrested the suspects on the seafront.

Fire services were busy across Sussex with the overnight watch at Preston Circus Fire Station attending 11 incidents. Two of them were to seafront Brighton clubs, the Tsar Bar, and the Concorde Bar, after smoke machines set off the automatic fire alarms.

The Preston Circus watch was called to Billham House, a converted church in Belgrave Street at 2. 15 am on New Year's Day after the fire alarms went off. As fire officers tried to find the cause, a door to one of the flats opened and out staggered two men and followed by smoke.

The officers led the two occupants to safety and put out the fire in the kitchen caused by a cooking pan catching fire. The two males declined hospital treatment.

Seven people thought they might have to see in the New Year in a hotel lift, after the mechanism failed. But fire officers managed to rescue them from the stuck lift at Premier Lodge, North Street, Brighton, in time for them to see in the New Year.