Police swoop on warring teens

The fight, which was stopped by police before it started, had been called by students at Peacehaven Community School and Longhill High School, Rottingdean, on Friday.

It followed the assault of a Peacehaven boy in Brighton the week before.

The youngsters had arranged to meet at either Chatsworth Park in Telscombe Cliffs or on Telscombe Tye but were stopped by police who had received detailed information from the local community.

A dog unit, eight officers and eight police community support officers were brought in at around 7.30pm to deal with the youngsters as they congregated.

Police used a temporary 24-hour order, under section 60 of the Prevention of Crimes Act, to stop and search anyone for weapons or bladed articles.

Officers seized alcohol and a cricket bat which was being carried as a weapon. No one was arrested.

Police thanked the community for their help in stopping the violence.

Sergeant Robin Fuller, of Peacehaven police, said: 'Once we received the information we put resources in place immediately in an effort to tackle the problem.

'The fight had been arranged between the two sets of youths due to an incident the previous week.

'All of the youths present when the police attended were checked and dispersed from the area. The youths checked will have letters sent to their parents informing them of where their children were and the fact that they were congregating for the purpose of anti-social behaviour.

'I will be working together with the Brighton Neighbourhood Support Team, the local schools and the youth action team with a view to preventing the problem re-occurring.

'I would also like to thank the local community for passing on the information with regard to the proposed fight which assisted in preventing anyone getting injured.'

Headteachers from both schools were unavailable for comment.