Police have cited Fatboy Slim's beach party as the reason they have refused to support plans for a bonfire, torchlit procession and fireworks event.

Officials at Eastbourne Bonfire Society had hoped to restore the event on December 7 after a 35-year absence.

They planned to march along the seafront, near Wish Tower, to the barbecue area where a firework display and bonfire was planned.

But Sussex Police logistics officials, who fear large crowds, have refused to support the event, saying unticketed events pose deep concern to the force.

It follows the free Fatboy Slim gig which proved a logistical nightmare for police as 250,000 people descended on Brighton beach.

Malcolm Richards, Sussex Police's planning and logistics manager, wrote to the bonfire society saying the gig placed emergency services under huge strain.

With the emergency services refusing to back the event, highways officials at East Sussex County Council have now refused to grant road closures for the procession.

However, the society proposes two options at its open meeting on September 9, which members hope will gain everyone's approval.

The first is to form a torchlit procession from Holywell along Lower Parade to the Wish Tower Slopes, provided they gain Eastbourne Borough Council's support.

There, members would march along the beach to beside Eastbourne Pier where the fireworks display would be fired from the end.

If the event cannot be staged in Eastbourne, the society is suggesting the procession passes through Westham and Pevensey, with bonfire and fireworks in Church Farm Field.

It would be a ticketed event, with members who have paid their subscriptions and bought their badge admitted free.

Members of visiting bonfire societies will also gain free entry, while all others would have to buy tickets.

Bonfire society vice-chairman Jerry Bird said: "We are sincerely hoping that the borough council will support us.

"We hope the authority will negotiate with Sussex Police about holding the event to find a way forward."