Two Sussex Police stations will be given facelifts in the new year after force leaders successfully bid for more than £200,000 of Government cash.

Sussex Police is one of 41 authorities which will receive money from the Premises Improvement Fund (PIF).

The grant of £206,500 will be used to refurbish the Hailsham police station reception area, provide office space for the relocation of scenes-of-crimes officers and upgrade existing computer facilities.

Part of the money will also be spent on renovating neighbouring Heathfield police station.

Chief Constable of Sussex, Ken Jones, said: "This will enable us to take forward our plans to bring a neighbourhood-style of local policing to this part of East Sussex.

"We aim to provide a much better reception area for the public at Hailsham and to restore Heathfield for use by the local Neighbourhood Police Team."

The money came from a Government pot of £20 million, aimed at improving conditions for officers and their colleagues.

Each police authority was allowed a maximum bid of £500,000.

The grants are expected to be match-funded with money from individual authority budgets, creating a total of £45 million to be spent across the country.

Home Office Minister John Denham, who announced the successful bids, said: "Reducing crime is at the heart of the ongoing programme of police reforms.

"To achieve this, we are investing in a wide range of measures to help police forces achieve their targets.

"The Premises Improvement Fund will modernise the working conditions of our officers, allowing them to operate more effectively.

"The Government is serious about tackling crime and we do not believe it is reasonable to expect officers and support staff to provide the highest standards of service in police stations which are physically run-down and ill-equipped."