POLICE broke down the door of a “dangerous” suspect as he slept in bed during a dawn raid.

Officers from the Tactical Enforcement Unit battered down the door at the property off Friday Street, Eastbourne this morning.

The suspect was given a shock in the darkness as he looked out of the window to see a dozen officers ready to break the door down.

He pulled back the curtains and quickly tried to hide.

But police found him cowering in the loft, and led him away into custody.

The suspect had been wanted since his failure to show up to court in February last year.

He had been charged in connection with a stabbing in Sorrel Drive, Eastbourne in 2018 before going missing.

But following research by the unit, officers swooped on the address after a quick briefing at the police station in Hammonds Drive.

The Argus:

They were told the suspect had previously knocked an officer unconscious.

Officers covered the front and rear entrances of the home in case the man tried to flee.

He was led out of the front door and covered his face as he was taken into custody.

Inspector Dan Hiles led the raid, and said the unit is designed to target the capture of some of Sussex’s most dangerous criminals and disrupt serious organised crime.

He said: “There is no officer who enjoys the idea of a criminal evading justice.

“This unit has been set up to target exactly those people.

“We needed this number of officers to make sure we could safely arrest the suspect and bring him to justice.

“We knew he posed a significant risk to officers as he had previously knocked an officer unconscious.”

Insp Hiles said the raid was a “great success”.

Meanwhile officers said “this is what we got into policing for, to catch the bad guys and lock them up”.

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Deputy Chief Constable Jo Shiner said the unit was set up in December and will target violent criminals and drugs gangs.

She said: “This unit has gone in to hunt down and arrest a very dangerous man. The unit is really playing an important part in keeping Sussex safe.

“These officers have specialist skills, building intelligence to find and arrest the most serious criminals causing harm in our communities.”

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said she is hopeful that a rise in the police council tax precept would help fund more tactical units to work across the whole county.

She said: “It sends a really powerful message to criminals, that Sussex is not open for business.”