New late-night pub and club opening hours have led to a huge escalation in yob behaviour and violence.

Police say drink-related crimes, such as harassment, public order offences and common assault, have shot up 80 per cent in Brighton and Hove city centre since the introduction of 24-hour drinking in November.

Residents' groups in central areas such as Kemp Town and East Brunswick say their lives are being made a misery by revellers noisily walking home as late as 6am. They claim householders are being driven out of the city centre and police warn things are likely to get worse as summer approaches.

Brighton and Hove City Council has been criticised because, unlike many local authorities, it has no policy on the impact of new late opening hours on outlying residential areas.

Brighton police commander Chief Superintendent Jeremy Paine said: "I am worried about the summer. Whereas pubs and clubs would be kicking out at 2am, with the streets calm by 3.30am, we now have the situation where premises can stay open until 6am. We are now arresting people at 7am or 8am who have drunk too much."

There were 465 reported incidents of low-level drunken violence and public disorder from November to March compared with 259 during the same period last year.

Roger Rolfe, of the Kingscliffe Society in Kemp Town, said: "I have not had a decent night's sleep in months and some people say they cannot bear it any longer and are not renewing their leases."

Bill Cowell, of the East Brunswick Area Residents' Association, said: "The council has given carte-blanche to the licensed trade to do as it pleases, despite the effect it is having on residents. As the weather has improved, we have been disturbed by drunken people urinating, shouting and smashing glasses in the street all night."

Brighton and Hove City Council has a policy of automatically granting any application for late hours if no objections are raised by neighbours.

If objections are received, it operates a strict policy on whether they are valid.

In one case, it rejected 15 letters of complaint about an application.

Only five out of 381 pubs which applied for late drinking hours in the wake of the Licensing Act were turned down, despite thousands of objections from worried neighbours.

That is in contrast to Westminster City Council, in London, which has a policy of rejecting all extensions in three zones which are bordered by residential areas.

Many more councils have employed "cumulative impact" policies to protect people living near city centres from disturbance created by later hours.

A police spokeswoman said while low-level incidents had increased, serious violent crime reduced by five per cent from November to March.

A city council spokesman said: "It is still early days to fully assess the effects of the new Licensing Act but the general feeling from the Licensing Strategy Group is that disturbances are reducing.

"Consultation ahead of the Act did not ask for a cumulative impact policy. Consultation was carried out with a variety of groups, including the Kingscliffe Society.

"We are now reviewing our policy and consulting on the next three-year cycle. If there is evidence that a cumulative impact policy is needed now, then we will adopt one."

The situation does not appear to be as bad in other Sussex towns. Inspector Mark Piper, of Crawley Police, said: "The fears about widespread late-night disorder and noise with 24-hour drinking have not materialised, or at least have not been reported to us."

A Crawley Borough Council spokeswoman said: "A lot of the pubs in the centre were granted late licences but most of the street-corner locals who wanted to stay open very late were rejected in fairness to residents."