A father wants street drinking banned in Brighton after his son, who has severe learning difficulties, was left in tears after being pestered by drunks.

Seven-year-old Christopher Gatt was walking to the taxi rank outside Brighton Station with his 10-year-old sister Kimberley and father Peter when a dog, belonging to the group of five men and a woman who were swigging beer from bottles, came up to him.

Christopher, who attends Downs Park School, in Portslade, and can only speak a few words, was terrified.

His father said: "He got extremely upset because he is petrified of dogs, so I asked the woman politely if she could take it away.

"He started saying 'dog, dog, bite me,' but they just ignored him, then my daughter started crying too.

"I told her to get hold of her brother and get in front of me but, as we walked away, they started shouting abuse."

Mr Gatt, of Freshfield Road, Brighton, said it took hours for him to calm down Christopher, who was still crying in the taxi home. Now he wants Brighton and Hove Council to ban drinking in all public places.

He said: "The incident may not seem much to some people, but it was extremely distressing for my son.

"I don't see why anyone should have to put up with drunken behaviour like that in public."

Mr Gatt said moves discussed by councillors on Wednesday to introduce a by-law banning drinking of alcohol in certain public places should be extended to cover the whole town.

If not, he fears residents will be harassed by drunks and tourists could be put off visiting the town again.

He said: "I took my children on a week's holiday to Blackpool and had a lovely time but this is what we got when we arrived home at the station. It seems the only welcome to Brighton they will get is from a group of drunks."

Mr Gatt now plans to lodge a complaint with Connex which is responsible for the station and the rank outside.

A spokesman for the company said it would investigate the incident, which happened at 8.45pm on Wednesday.

He said: "As a matter of policy, we work closely with the British Transport Police to prevent any customer becoming upset or annoyed in any way by people out to cause problems.

"If the group is still hanging outside the station we will request direct police action to have them removed."

A report into introducing a by-law banning drinking in St James's Street and other possible places is being prepared for a council meeting in September.