Police are launching a "three-strikes-and-you're-out" regime to ban violent yobs from Brighton's city centre bars.

From today licensees, bouncers and police officers will issue trouble-makers with football-style yellow cards.

A third card will automatically result in a ban from 100 bars and licensed restaurants in central Brighton.

Thugs who ignore their bans will be handed Asbos by the courts and could then face five years in jail.

The initiative follows a worrying rise of alcohol-fuelled yob culture and people who have had too much to drink dishing out beatings and even stabbings.

Nationally, drink-related offences account for 47 per cent of public violence but in Brighton the figure is 60 per cent. Sussex Police Chief Constable Ken Jones has launched Enough Is Enough - a campaign against drink-related violence and anti-social behaviour.

Under the latest blitz, troublemakers issued with their first yellow cards would have their details passed to the Business Crime Reduction Partnership and Sussex Police.

A third yellow card will result in an exclusion notice being served and a ban from all the licensed premises which are members of the scheme.

Offenders will be captured on CCTV and their photographs circulated to all the participating venues.

Any breach of the exclusion notice will be referred to the city's anti-social behaviour team which could apply to the courts for an Asbo.

A police spokesman said: "Breach of an Asbo could result in a prison sentence of up to five years and/or a fine."

Terry Davies, of the Business Crime Reduction Partnership, said "The BCRP has a very successful exclusion notice scheme operating across our 300 members which has proved very useful in steering offenders into rehabilitation. It has the support of the courts and anyone breaching the notice is deemed to have committed an anti-social act.

"This new yellow card scheme will be available to our 100 members who are licensees and will assist to identify offenders who are involved in mainly violent crime.

"Prolific offenders will be identified and could find themselves with Asbos and potentially five years in prison if they don't rationalise their use of alcohol and curb their violent behaviour."

Julia Wyborn-Dor, violent crime reduction officer for Sussex Police, said "People must take responsibility for their actions.

"Violence associated with alcohol consumption and anti-social behaviour will no longer be tolerated.

"It is unacceptable to those who frequent the city centre and to those who work in it. Enough is enough.

"This scheme has been successful in many other towns and cities across the country and we look forward to seeing the same results in Brighton."

Police and 100 licensees and door supervisors were at the launch of the scheme at the Quality Inn Hotel in West Street yesterday.