Thousands attend Fatboy Slim gig

The DJ said: "There's nothing better than playing in your home town"

Fatboy Slim's New Year's Day beach party has seen 20,000 music lovers gather on Brighton seafront.

Recorded music was played from 1400 GMT with live acts on stage from 1500 GMT. Stewards and coastguards were on duty alongside 130 police officers.

Before the event the Hove DJ said: "We don't want anyone to get hurt. We don't want anyone to get cold."

The DJ, whose real name is Norman Cook said planning for the winter beach party had taken him four years.

In the run-up to the event, Sussex Police said the event, called the Big Beach Boutique 3, would be safe.

The stage and audience are in an enclosed area adjacent to the beach.

Be responsible, dress up warm, don't get hypothermia, cos I'll get blamed for it DJ Norman Cook

A similar event run by the performer in July 2002 ended in chaos when 250,000 people turned up instead of the expected 60,000.

The DJ said that ever since the 2002 event, he only had to wander around the city for people to come up and ask when he would hold the next beach party.

Mr Cook, who played a two hour set, said: "There's nothing better than playing in your home town with a beautiful beach."

Twenty thousand tickets were sold for the winter beach party

And he added he would like to hold a Brighton beach party every year for the rest of his career.

He said: "I prefer to do it in summer but I don't think it's going to be feasible.

"Enough people descend on Brighton just to sit on the beach."

He said he expected no repeat of the problems from 2002.

"It finishes at eight o'clock so everyone's got time to get the last train home.

"I mean, we've literally spent the last four years analysing every problem.

"Obviously the one thing that we can't guarantee is that people won't get drunk and hurt themselves, so I'd ask everyone to be responsible, dress up warm, don't get hypothermia, cos I'll get blamed for it."