THIS year’s Halloween truly became fright night as police officers dubbed the evening of chaos as “one of the busiest” for almost 30 years.

Sussex Police reported that it was inundated with “double” the amount of serious emergency calls compared to a “busy night” in Brighton and Hove.

The Halloween horrors included a street brawl involving a man dressed as Scooby Doo, the robbery of a teenager by a man wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and a house party attended by 150 people and described by residents as a “rave”.

Police admitted they could not get to get to every call they received and said they had to respond on a priority basis because of an “unprecedented” number of people in the city.

Other incidents included an aggravated burglary in Norwich Drive, a serious injury when a 42-year-old man was hit by a van in Ship Street, and parties spilling out into the road in Ditchling Rise and Guildford Street, all in Brighton.

Inspector Roy Apps, of Sussex Police, said: “I apologise that we couldn’t get to all the calls we received on Friday night. We had an unprecedented number of people in the city and calls had to be prioritised.

“Friday night was one of the busiest nights I have had in 27 years of policing. We had 80 Grade One emergency calls, twice as many as on a busy night.

“With Halloween falling on a Friday and the unseasonably warm weather, people were keeping windows open and spilling out on the streets. We needed to prioritise the calls we received.”

Around midnight, a brawl erupted outside the Mash Tun in Church Street, Brighton, involving 16 people including a man dressed as Scooby Doo.

Onlookers, including people dressed as Cinderella, Lord Nelson and a giant caterpillar, watched as Scooby Doo ripped off his mask and attacked a group of zombies.

Mathew Lunn, 33, from London, who was visiting friends in Brighton, said he thought it was a joke until Scooby turned aggressive and raised his fists.

He said: “At first I thought it was a joke and I was expecting Shaggy to appear. Then it got serious and I saw Scooby lashing out and skipping across the road throwing punches and shouting.

“He looked possessed. He seemed to hit a girl first who was trying to calm him down then he chased three or four zombies before they ganged up and turned on him. To be honest, he could hardly stand up.”

Elsewhere in the city, in the early hours of Halloween night in Somerhill Road, Hove, a man wearing a “Ku Klux Klan-style” white hood robbed a 26-year-old woman.

The assailant demanded her mobile phone and bag, which she handed over together with a bottle of wine in a carrier bag The suspect was holding a pair of kitchen scissors but these were not used against the victim and she was not physically harmed.

Detective Sergeant Chris Lane said: “This was in the early hours just after Halloween evening so many people would have been out in fancy dress.

“However, we appeal to anyone who saw this particular man in the area of Furze Hill or St Ann’s Well Gardens to get in touch. Similarly, if a friend or family member left the house in possession of such an item, please contact us.”

In Bernard Road, Brighton, police received calls from angry residents about a house party in which 150 “students” partied until 6.30am the next day.

A white Dodge box van, driven by a 42-year-old Brighton man, struck a 24-year-old man from Uckfield at 11.20pm on Friday. The pedestrian was left with serious head injuries.

Elsewhere in the city, there was a large brawl in Sandhurst Avenue, an assault in Richmond Terrace and an aggravated burglary in Norwich Drive.