The chase started at 4.20pm yesterday when a woman spotted four men acting suspiciously near a restaurant at Barcombe Mills, Lewes.
Police, aware of two break-ins in the area, found nearby a car containing property stolen from the restaurant and burglary tools.
Officers followed a trail through fields and across a river and railway line to a track leading into the Malling Estate in Lewes.
Picking up more stolen property along the way, the police then saw four men emerge from a lane.
One officer said: "They were soaked and covered head-to-toe in mud."
The suspects fled but police caught up with them.
Three men were arrested and inquiries are continuing to trace a fourth.
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