Three Sussex Police officers have been disciplined for failing to take a dying man to hospital quickly enough.

Ron Nicholls was driven around Brighton unconscious and hand-cuffed in the back of police van for 35 minutes while officers searched for a snack.

He later died in hospital from a brain haemorrhage although experts testified he would have died even if he had been transported in an ambulance.

Three officers, a sergeant and two PCs, admitted at a misconduct hearing neglecting to take Mr Nicholls to hospital promptly.

One was reprimanded and two were fined.

The Police Complaints Authority supervised the Sussex Police investigation into Mr Nicholls's death.

On August 15 last year an ambulance was called to attend Mr Nicholls, 47, as he was behaving bizarrely and had threatened a member of his family in Hollingdean, Brighton.

He ran from the ambulance and police were informed.

A probationary constable called to assist the ambulance crew checked him on the Police National Computer and discovered there were outstanding warrants for his arrest.

This constable and a sergeant, later found Mr Nicholls lying on the ground.

The probationer constable, with two other constables who had joined him, urged the sergeant to arrange for Mr Nicholls to be taken directly to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

Instead, the sergeant decided to take him to John Street police station in Brighton instead.

When Mr Nicholls arrived at the station at about 1.40am he was not accepted into custody and was sent to hospital, accompanied by three constables.

They did not take Mr Nicholls directly to the hospital, a two-minute journey, but took a diversion to buy food before arriving at the hospital half-an-hour later.

A CT scan revealed a serious brain haemorrhage and Mr Nicholls was moved to an intensive care ward where he died the following day.

The inquiry found, on medical advice, that the delay was "most undesirable" but did not contribute to Mr Nicholls's death.

The investigation was supervised by PCA member Mr David Petch and was carried out by Sussex Police professional standards department.

The investigation was completed in November and Sussex Police recommended that the sergeant and two constables should face misconduct charges.

The probationer was given an oral warning.

Mr Petch said: "I agreed with Sussex that three officers should face a misconduct hearing. They pleaded guilty to neglect of duty and the sergeant was reprimanded and the two constables who delayed driving to the hospital were each fined.

"After the inquest, the coroner for Brighton and Hove was indignant about the treatment that Mr Nicholls received.

"I cannot understand why the sergeant wanted to take Mr Nicholls into custody in the first place, given his obvious disorientation.

"We have repeatedly urged officers to send seriously ill prisoners directly to hospital.

"Sussex Police do not want officers to take chances and neither do we."

Chief Superintendent Paul Curtis, head of Brighton and Hove police, said: "Sussex Police recognises the distress caused to the family and friends of Mr Nicholls not only by his death but also by the attendant circumstances and the conduct of the police officers on August 15 last year.

"Although an investigation has established that unfortunately, medically, there was nothing that could be done to save Mr Nicholls nevertheless officers were under a duty of care to take him straight to hospital."