Visible policing and stringent ticketing policies helped cut arrests at Withdean by a third last season.

Despite the Albion's Division One campaign pitting them against local rivals Crystal Palace, Millwall and Portsmouth, the number of arrests fell from nine to six.

Meanwhile, the number of Albion fans arrested at away grounds remained static at 29 across the season.

The figures show the club bucked the national trend of a 19 per cent increase in football-related arrests across England and Wales.

In the division overall there were 1,042 arrests, up from 1,016, and the most since 1997/98.

Across all four divisions there were almost 4,800 arrests.

A club spokesman said: "There were six arrests at Withdean, all for minor offences and mostly alcohol-related.

"Away from home we visited much larger clubs and attracted more away followers.

"This increased the opportunity for problems away from grounds.

"But overall there was a significant improvement to the club over the year."

The club's safety adviser, Richard Hebberd, was pleased with the figures and said the number of arrests at Withdean across a whole season was much less than a typical Saturday night in the centre of Brighton.

PC Darren Balkham, Sussex Police's football liaison officer, said: "The total figure for arrests was 35 - that's six at home and 29 away.

"But that does not show the true picture - that's the arrests and not the number charged. Of those arrested at home, four were charged with minor offences, either drink-related or minor public order offences. Those charged away from home were less than double figures.

"Bigger clubs visited the ground with bigger reputations and a local derby was played for the first time in 13 years.

"From a police point of view, it's encouraging and shows that, although I don't perceive Brighton to have a hooligan problem per se, the club are making Withdean a safer place."

PC Balkham said the Albion's away members scheme prevented known troublemakers getting tickets, although at the larger clubs with bigger stadiums there were more opportunities for these people to buy tickets on the gate.

He added the number of arrests was far smaller than clubs with major hooligan problems, such as Burnley and Nottingham Forest.