Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames has attacked the "predatory" Metropolitan Police for poaching senior officers.

Mr Soames said the Met's tactics were having a serious impact on policing in Sussex, where there is a shortage of sergeants.

Last month, we revealed there were 60 vacancies but only 24 PCs eligible for promotion.

The main reason for the shortage is the difficulty of the exams PCs have to take for promotion but the "brain drain" is also a problem.

Some officers are leaving Sussex to join other forces, mainly the Met, which pays £6,000 a year more and provides free travel.

In the year to March 2003, Sussex lost 72 officers of all ranks but gained only 32 from other forces.

Conservative MP Mr Soames raised the problem with Home Secretary David Blunkett in the Commons.

He said: "The extraction of police from other local forces seriously affects the Sussex police, who continue to lose high-grade and experienced officers to the Met through its predatory approach."

Mr Soames added: "Although that may be good for the Met, it is very bad for the Sussex police."

He was backed by Tory Home Affairs spokesman Jim Paice who said the movement of police from one area to another was creating a "vacuum for crime".

But Mr Blunkett insisted he was taking steps to help forces such as Sussex.

He gave the example of the cheaper housing being offered to key workers, including police.

The Home Secretary said: "Just three years ago, the drain away from the Metropolitan Police was reaching dangerous levels.

"The reversal of that has of course placed strain on forces immediately outside London, which is why now, and through our continuing conversations with chief constables, we are doing everything possible to achieve a balance by appropriate measures and rewards, including housing, for the most affected authorities."

Sussex Chief Constable Ken Jones has urged any officers thinking of leaving to talk to him first, adding: "Sussex is a great place to live and work."