Council bosses have promised to tackle rising violent crime in Hastings and St Leonards.

Home Office figures show that the seaside town has the 11th worst violent crime rate in the country.

Council leader Jeremy Birch vowed to stem the growth at a crime summit attended by other community groups.

They heard from police chiefs from Burnley in Lancashire who have cut violent crime with a pioneering town centre scheme.

People who are banned from one pub are banned from all pubs, with a photograph circulated to all licensees to make them aware.

Coun Birch said more money was being made available to help Labour-led Hastings Borough Council reduce violent crime.

He said: "We know that a significant amount of violent crime is alcohol-related and the council will soon be responsible for liquor licensing.

"It will allow us to have a co-ordinated approach as we'll be dealing with planning applications, licensing applications and public entertainment licences.

"This will allow us, for example, to question whether there are too many licensed premises in a particular area, or even a particular street, and we will make sure town centre safety is a key consideration.

"We will also be developing a new strategy for the evening economy in the town centre. We will decide what we want to achieve and then work with our partners to achieve it.

"And we will work in other areas, too, for example Central St Leonards which has its own challenges.

"We will ensure that the new regeneration developments in the town have safety and security at the heart of their design. We will work hard to secure additional funding for street wardens, who've already had a tremendous impact and we will work closely with the new police community support officers."

The council has also pledged to press ahead with tackling the need for a Hastings youth strategy, particularly targeted at 14-18 year olds, and will consider how businesses can help made the town centre safer.

Coun Birch said: "Over the next few weeks the results of the summit will be used to develop action plans - we are not just going to talk about violent crime, we will tackle it."