Criminals who commit minor offences have been told that the chances of being caught by CCTV cameras on a Brighton estate are negligible.

Sussex Police say that six new cameras in Moulsecoomb - which cost nearly £1m to install - will only be used to detect crimes such as murder, rape and armed robbery.

They do not have enough staff to trawl hours of footage searching for minor offenders unless they know when the crime has been committed.

But it would be wrong to condemn them. Sussex Police is finding it harder to attract new blood to its ranks let alone keep serving officers here.

Unless extra staff are bought in the trawl though the films or a way is found to get wardens involved, there are likely to be many more criminals whose smiling faces will end up on the cutting room floor.