Party crashers spark web warning

Police in Sussex have warned against advertising events on social networking websites after up to 300 youngsters gate-crashed a girl's birthday party.

One hundred people were originally invited to the 16-year-old's house in Brighton on Saturday.

But after word got out on Facebook and despite the attendance of adults at the event, officers had to be called to disperse hordes of teenagers.

Insp Andy Richardson said: "There was a sea of people, the place was overrun."

They invited a large number of people but as soon as word got out on Facebook that there was a party in the area, the place got overrun with people Sussex Police

He said the number of youngsters had caused a major safety problem that had required a lot of police time and resources to deal with.

"We eventually got the unwanted guests out at around 11pm," he said.

According to reports, the uninvited teenagers damaged carpets and wrecked the shed and garden.

No arrests were made, a Sussex Police spokeswoman added.

She said: "To all intents and purposes the parents did the right thing by getting adults to, in effect, act as bouncers.

"They invited a large number of people but as soon as word got out on Facebook that there was a party in the area, the place got overrun with people.

"We managed to move people on quickly as they knew they were not welcome at the party."