Violent criminals and rapists on "away days" to the coast are turning Brighton and Hove into one of the most dangerous nightspots in the country.

New figures published today show there were 117 rapes last year - a rate of 5.66 per 10,000, which puts Brighton and Hove seventh in a league table of England and Wales, well ahead of London and the rest of the South-East.

The city is also shown to be the most violent city in the region, with 4,428 assaults last year - a rate of 21.43 per thousand.

Victim support groups today warned the statistics, compiled by independent think tank Reform, might only be scratching the surface.

A spokesman for Rape Crisis said: "We know a lot of rapes happen in Brighton because it is a place where people go to party and let their hair down and it is in these circumstances we find that most people suffer rape.

"It happens when people are drunk, when they are off their guard and often when people least expect it."

Graham Hill, chief executive of Sussex Victim Support, said: "The reality is we are not sure how many people are raped every year because large numbers go unreported."

Attacks more than doubled in West Street in Brighton's nightclub district, from 70 in 2004 to 143 last year.

There were 53 attacks last year in Kings Road, 39 in Madeira Drive and 38 in North Street.

All four streets were named among the most 13 most violent locations in Sussex by police earlier this year.

Officers said the increase was linked to people drinking irresponsibly in the city centre.

A breakdown of the statistics reveals that the rise is mainly due to higher numbers of "non-serious" violent crimes, ranging from shouting and swearing to minor assaults such as pushing and shoving.

Police in Brighton played down Reform's figures and blamed drunk tourists for the high proportion of attacks.

Although grievous and actual bodily harm dropped in the 12 months to April 1, so-called "low level" assaults - those associated with yob behaviour and drunkeness - have rocketed by more than 30 per cent.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "The city has a huge night time economy, with more than 1,000 licensed premises, and while it may have a population of a quarter of a million people, it's really eight-and-a-quarter million once you add the amount of people who visit.

"The reality is that the amount of the most serious types of assaults was down between April 2005 and March 2006 and Brighton and Hove is actually a very safe place to be."

But Reform said police forces which appeared high up on the tables were failing and demanded improvement.

Blair Gibbs, a researcher who worked on the Urban Crime Report, said: "It's our opinion that they are doing something wrong and are failing if they are high up the tables.

"This is the first time this research has been presented this way and we hope it will hold forces to greater account and will spur them on to change things."

Brighton MP David Lepper said he was worried about the high numbers of rapes in the city but said he was confident overall crime rates in Brighton and Hove were falling.

He said: "I've seen the figures myself which prove crime is being tackled in Brighton and Hove, but rape is obviously a worry.

"There is evidence to suggest that women and men are now more confident that rape will be investigated more thoroughly by the police and that means more victims could be reporting it."

Eastbourne was also above the national average, with 43 rapes and a rate of 4.04 per 10,000.

With three murders last year, Eastbourne also has among the highest rates in the country.

However, this figure can be accounted for by the relatively low population.

Brighton had no murders in 2005.

The figures show that Brighton and Hove, Eastbourne and Crawley - the three urban centres in Sussex with populations of more than 100,000 - had relatively low rates of robbery and vehicle crime.

Eastbourne and Crawley have the lowest burglary rates in the country.