Police in Brighton and Hove are the first in Britain to put officers on patrol using inline skates.

Two officers are skating up and down the city's seafront, tackling drunks and troublemakers and keeping the peace for tourists and locals.

Heads turn as the PCs speed by on their mini wheels and they are fast becoming a tourist attraction.

People stop and chat to the bobbies and children come running up to them to examine the boots.

One young boy asked PC Damian Stevens: "Are you going to have a blue flashing light on your head?"

Tourist Keith Davey from Australia said: "I think I've seen it all now."

It would normally take an officer ten minutes to walk between the Palace and West Piers but inline skates have cut the time down to a couple of minutes.

He and colleague PC James Marter can reach a top speed of about 10mph and can often get into areas to crowded for new city police cycle patrol officers.

PC Stevens said: "We've skated up to drug dealers and surprised them and stopped drunks and illegal traders before they cause problems.

"Getting around quicker has definitely helped and it has added an extra weapon to the police armoury."

The skates, bought locally, can be slipped off quickly.

Superintendent Peter Coll, second-in-command of city police, said: "Skates make officers far more visible and mobile and they look cool and trendy. They fit in perfectly with the cosmopolitan nature of the seafront."

He said the patrols would last throughout the summer but there were no plans to introduce them elsewhere.

PC Stevens, 29 and engaged, was an ideal candidate for the skates, having played ice hockey.

PC Stevens said: "I haven't fallen over yet. I can imagine the seafront CCTV camera operators and bystanders having a laugh if and when I do."