Sussex Police are finally ditching their radio system, which sometimes leaves bobbies talking to French taxi drivers instead of their own control room.

Atmospheric conditions sometimes interfere with the radio signals and instead of talking to their local stations, officers end up explaining themselves to cabbies in Dieppe.

There are transmission black holes in Sussex too, especially along the South Downs and in certain streets with high-rise buildings, that make existing radios useless, causing embarrassing and sometimes serious problems at the scenes of a crimes or road accidents.

The system was considered outdated decades ago but the force today is on the verge of dragging radios into the 21st Century.

Airwave is a new £2 million system that does away with radio frequencies and relies on mobile phone technology.

Old phones will be replaced by smart sets similar to, but slightly larger than, today's average mobile.

They offer many more functions and ultimately could send and receive digital photographs and video footage.

All other emergency services including fire, ambulance and Coastguards are ultimately expected to be hooked into the same system.

The Government has been planning Airwave for all forces in England and Wales since the mid-Nineties and Sussex is finally about to come on stream.

Brighton and Hove police will get them first, in March, and the rest of the force throughout the year.

The service provider, O2, is setting up aerial masts round the county, some causing annoyance to residents, although most will be at pre-existing sites.

O2 is guaranteeing Sussex Police 100 per cent coverage in the county in exchange for a provider contract thought to be worth millions of pounds annually. The Government is helping with costs.

Project manager Superintendent Ross Hollister said Sussex had ordered 4,000 Airwave radios to replace all existing hand and car radios, which were part of a system he had been familiar with for all of his 27-year service.

He knows only too well how poor the current system can be: "I remember working once in Worthing and being able to speak to someone in Jersey but not my own police station.

"I don't think there is a policeman who has worked in the force for five years or more who hasn't experienced some problem or another."

Every one of the county's 3,100 officers and some civilians will be issued with an Airwave radio or, as they are officially called, terminals.

Mr Hollister said one big advantage would be the ability to talk to their station wherever they were without switching channels.

Special "talk groups" can be set up for, say, car pursuits, so all divisions and police teams involved can speak to each other.

This, he said, will be invaluable during Operation Otter, the policing of next year's Labour Party conference in Brighton.

Instead of all 1,700 officers potentially jamming the airways, the talk group system can include just those who need to speak and listen.

Conversations are encrypted so even if police groupies, villains or terrorists were able to eavesdrop, they would need a decoder to understand what was being said.

And there are security devices built in, including pin-code protection preventing anyone who obtained a hand set from switching it on and tapping into the system.

An officer need only press one button to tell their station they have arrived at a scene and where they are. Terminals can be used as ordinary mobile phones, send text messages and include extras like a calculator and a "to do" listing system.

Mr Hollister said: "In due course, we will integrate the system with computers to allow checks on suspects with the Police National Computer (for convictions or warrants).

"The potential for more uses in the future is tremendous. We should be able to transmit colour images which could prove invaluable when we are looking for a missing child or a dangerous offender.

"When we get really organised, we could even transmit video footage. The whole idea is to manage communications more efficiently in a more modern and flexible manner."

Concerns have been expressed about radiological effects from the phones.

But Mr Hollister said Sussex Police "cannot afford to be complacent - we need to be confident we are not putting our officers or, indeed, the public at risk".

He explained other forces, including Lancashire, Suffolk and Leicestershire, were already using the system and they had not reported any significant problems.

Airwave emissions, he said, were between 20 and 50 times below the level considered to have potential to cause harm.

The old radios are considered by many Sussex officers to be far more dangerous.

One long server said: "I remember using one version that was vicious. When you put the radio to your mouth and pressed the button to speak the aerial was released and shot up.

"The aerial ended up in your nose and it was very painful."