A night of drunken violence threatened to overshadow a fall in reported crimes.

Within a few hours, police in Brighton and Hove were called to a fight involving a stabbing, a teenager was thrown through a kebab shop window and drunks were reported for smashing bottles outside homes.

The incidents provided a snapshot of the kind of crime Sussex Police are faced with during an average weekend.

However, the annual British Crime Survey published today shows crime in the city is falling.

Reports of almost every type of offence have decreased.

Violent crime, robbery, burglary and car theft have all been reduced, according to a study by the Home Office.

The statistics for Brighton and Hove reflect a national fall in the most common offences by five per cent.

And Home Secretary David Blunkett promises a crackdown on drunken vandals and thugs to end the scenes witnessed in Brighton at the weekend.

Crime fuelled by binge drinking is on the rise and is a problem not just in Brighton and Hove but in many towns and cities in England.

The stabbing, smashed window and public disturbance in Brighton all happened just after pubs and clubs closed last Friday night.

A least one man was stabbed during a brawl at 2.30am outside the Zap nightclub on the seafront.

A 17-year-old was thrown through a window in Queensway at 11pm.

Neighbours reported being woken by smashing glass in Saltdean after closing time.

And police were called out to dozens of incidents involving drunken violence and vandalism.

Hugh Marriage, South-East Home Office director, has welcomed the results of the survey and praised both Sussex Police and Brighton and Hove City Council.

He said: "The people of Brighton and Hove should experience significantly less crime than four years ago.

"They should see quite an observable change and should be feeling much more relaxed about how safe they are.

"What today's statistics do suggest is Sussex Police has had another extremely good year.

"I see every sign that in Sussex generally and Brighton as well we'll see crime come down further."

The crime survey reveals violent crime has been reduced by 12 per cent to 4,040 reported cases. There was a huge fall in the number of stolen cars, from 1,679 to 1,457 this year.

Robbery was down by four reported offences at 460 while thefts fell two per cent from 3,119 to 3,066.

But there was a 39 per cent increase in sexual assaults, blamed on an increase in drunken attacks outside nightclubs.

Chief Inspector Lance Gray, the district commander for central Brighton, said: "We're pleased but not complacent. When you get a small reduction in crime there is a fragility to that but it does represent a lot of hard work by police officers and our community partnerships."

The Home Office also singled out the Brighton and Hove Community Safety Team, launched in March, for praise.

The team tackles domestic violence, racial harassment and homophobic and transphobic crime.