A new police chief has been appointed for Brighton and Hove, less than a year after the last one took over.

Chief Superintendent Doug Rattray is moving to Lewes headquarters as head of organisational services and his replacement will be Chief Superintendent Paul Curtis, currently head of policing in Hastings.

Next month's switch comes as policing in the city is also about to undergo radical change.

It was only last March Mr Rattray was appointed to head a new amalgamated Brighton and Hove division.

The city was divided into two new policing areas, inner and outer, but that will be set aside later this month in favour of three districts.

Chief inspectors have been appointed to head Hove, central Brighton and Kemp Town and the third district encompassing Hollingbury, Patcham, Westdene, Moulsecoomb and parts of East Brighton.

The changes fly in the face of force aims to maintain policing continuity in communities but they were not unexpected following a major review of county policing by Chief Constable Ken Jones.

He said: "Sometimes there is a need for a reshuffle and we have to strike a balance between continuity and the need to get the right people in the right place."

Mr Rattray, 48, said: "I have loved it in Brighton and while I am sorry to be going I am looking forward very much to the new job."

His successor is 51 and was brought up and educated in Brighton and Hove.

He worked in Brighton for five years until 1984 and today said: "I feel like I am coming back to my home town."

Mr Curtis took over Crawley, Horsham and Steyning police as commander in 1996 before moving to Hastings where he has been for more than four years.

He has spent more than 30 years with Sussex Police and started his career on foot patrol in Haywards Heath.

The father-of-three is trained as a public order commander and hostage negotiator and gained a master's degree in organisational management.

Mr Curtis agreed there was a need for continuity and said he hoped to remain at the city's helm for between three and five years.