More than 70 curry lovers are swapping turkey for tikka and avoiding the Christmas Day kitchen chaos by visiting an Indian restaurant in Brighton.

The Curry Mahal, in Portland Road, Hove, has been fully booked for the big day for weeks and Peter Otway is one of more than 70 people visiting on December 25.

He has persuaded five friends and relatives a curry house is the ideal place for Christmas dinner.

Company director Mr Otway, 57, from Woodingdean, said: "When I first told people they were a bit surprised. But then they jumped at the chance.

"They thought it would make a really pleasant change from the traditional Christmas dinner."

Although all the food will be strictly Indian, Christmas carols will be played and a festive tree will sit in the corner. Customers will not be deprived of their Christmas crackers and party poppers.

A curry Christmas dinner will also be a first for company director Carlo Alonzi. A friend of Mr Otway, it was his idea to go to the Curry Mahal.

Mr Alonzi, 62, from Brighton, said: "There were a few raised eyebrows when I first suggested the idea.

"But I wanted to do something different. I thought why not a curry?"

John Burrage, 51, from Shoreham, is spending December 25 with his girlfriend and family at the Curry Mahal.

He said: "I will miss a traditional Christmas dinner like a hole in the tooth."

Manager Shy Malique said: "We are fully booked on Christmas Day. We are setting a new trend and 99.9 per cent of our customers are British."