New relaxed licensing laws will not tackle the problems caused by drunken yobs spilling on to the street at closing time, say police.

The Government has repeatedly claimed the Licensing Act, which allows pubs to close whenever they want from November, would mean staggered closing times and less drunken aggravation on the streets.

But Brighton and Hove police believe most pubs in the city centre will choose to close at midnight during the week and 1am on Fridays and Saturdays even if their new licences permit longer opening hours.

This means drinkers will still spill out on to the streets at the same time - it will just be one or two hours later than at present.

Similarly, weekend clubbers in the city centre are all expected to be asked to leave at 4am rather than 2am - meaning there will be as many on the streets at the same time but they will have had two more hours to drink.

David Bateup, Brighton and Hove police licensing officer, said: "The Government's idea is that all the pubs and clubs will close at different times and there will be a gradual dispersion of people.

"What will probably happen is instead of having a mass exodus from clubs in West Street at 2am we will have a mass exodus at 4am.

"We could end up in a worse situation by not having 24-hour drinking. We may have more binge drinking and more alcohol-related violence or the new legislation may work.

"The truth of the matter is, we don't know what will happen."

More than 350 licensed premises in Brighton and Hove have applied for hours extensions.

The Montpelier Inn, in Montpelier Place, Brighton, has applied to serve alcohol until 12.30am from Sunday to Wednesday and until 1.30am from Thursday to Saturday.

The Lord Nelson pub in Trafalgar Street, Brighton, wants to stay open until midnight from Sunday to Thursday and until 1am on Friday and Saturday.

The applications have sparked a backlash from homeowners who fear their locals will be turned into late-night drinking dens and existing problems of noise, crime and disturbance will get much worse.

Mr Bateup said the police were powerless to object to landlords' applications for variations in licences unless there was past evidence of disorder.

He said: "We entirely understand where residents are coming from and we share their concerns but our hands are tied.

"There may be a more relaxed licensing regime but the monitoring will be tougher.

"We will drag anyone not running their premises responsibly into the licensing committee and either cut back their hours or add conditions."