Seven more people have been arrested in a police blitz on seafront drug dealers in Brighton.

A total of 16 suspects have now been picked up on a stretch of beach where traders say drugs are easier to buy than ice cream.

Police say the crackdown is due to continue through the summer with uniformed officers patrolling the esplanade around the West Street subway.

It follows complaints from traders that the area has become a magnet for trouble.

Sniffer dogs uncovered £500 worth of cannabis and ecstasy tablets in the first of a series of operations on Thursday.

Traders on the seafront applauded the crackdown saying dealing has spiralled out of control.

Turf battles have broken out on the shingle, with rival gangs clashing for the best pitches. Drug stashes have been buried on the beach.

One trader said: "I've seen them smoking with kids in school uniform and then dealing to them and it's not just weed, it's pills and crack as well."

Another trader said: "It's easier to buy drugs here than it is to buy an ice cream - you have to queue for an ice cream."

Chief Inspector Lisa Pearcey said she was pleased with the crackdown results so far and warned more operations were in the pipeline: "We will not tolerate this problem and our efforts will continue."

Uniformed officers have been assigned to patrol the area during the summer.