More than one thousand job-hunters flocked to The Argus Careers and Training Exhibition yesterday.

The event, at the Corn Exchange, Brighton, attracted huge levels of interest with 700 eager visitors arriving in the first two hours.

It was the 26th careers event The Argus has organised and was the biggest and best yet.

It was a chance for the unemployed, graduates and those seeking a career change to make contacts and hear about vacancies from the 40 companies exhibiting at the fair.

Career opportunities ranged from bank, hotel and accountancy work to victim support and The Samaritans.

Pippa Bolton, Argus recruitment and sales manager, said: "There has been a huge level of interest, the place has been humming.

"We have had some very positive feedback from people, which is very encouraging.

"It is very important The Argus is involved in the community and this is one way of achieving that. It is also a chance for us to spend some time with the companies which advertise regularly on our recruitment pages."

Sussex Careers Service held seminars during the day offering people the chance to learn interview techniques, how to write good CVs and how to finance adult learning.

Adelle Pope, from Hunters Recruitment which had a stand at the event, said: "It has been incredibly useful, the number and calibre of people we saw today has been very high.

"It also gives candidates the chance to see lots of different employers in one place.

"This exhibition would have been a great help to me when I was looking for a job four years ago."

Chantal Cossou, 33, came to the event because she is hoping to move to Brighton from London and was looking for a job in customer services or administration.

She said: "A friend told me about it so I came down to have a look. It's very useful, you get to speak to companies and register with recruitment agencies. I am quite confident I will be able to find a job."