A phenomenal haul was uncovered by police who raided the home of a suspected burglar.

Every room of the semi-detached house was piled high with boxes, tools, bags, clothes, furniture, garden equipment, TVs, CDs, computers and sports gear.

Officers had to force open doors and climb on top of piles of items that reached chest height.

Every work surface in the kitchen was heaped high.

A bedroom was filled to bursting and police heaved open the door before they could get in.

Officers had to climb over a sofa that blocked the door of the packed lounge.

Only the toilet in the house in Chailey Road, Moulsecoomb, Brighton, was clear.

It took the team of eight two days to climb through the rooms and remove items.

Many were new and are thought to be the proceeds of shoplifting and burglaries.

There were so many electrical items, TV, videos, work tools and garden power equipment that search teams did not know at first where to store them.

They loaded them into two vans and are storing the haul in the old cell block in the basement of Brighton police station.

Much of the stockpile was "legitimate" but police carried out piles of items suspected of being stolen.

One officer said: "There's a TV show, Life Laundry, where stuff people hoard in their homes is cleared out.

"Imagine the worst episode you've seen and times it by a hundred and you'll have some idea what it was like inside the house. We have never seen anything like it."

Officers are now trying to find rightful owners and may hold a viewing day for the public.

Police recorded 231 items but some were bags or boxes containing dozens of pieces.

The search was triggered after a man was arrested on suspicion of burglary. Inquiries led police to the semi-detached house.

Anyone with information should contact Brighton and Hove police on 0845 6070999.