A senior police officer has quite rightly admitted mistakes were made in the case of a suspected burglar being detained at a Hove restaurant.

Din Mohammed and his son Dil held the man for more than an hour after he was discovered on their premises, before having to let him go.

Police told the men they were too busy to attend as they were dealing with a serious incident elsewhere.

As Mr Mohammed said at the time, it seems incredible there were not enough officers to cover both jobs.

But while criticism of the police is justified, the frank admission made in The Argus today has to be applauded.

We live in a society where so many people refuse to take responsibility for their actions and simply will not apologise when they do something wrong.

So, when a senior officer like Chief Superintendent Doug Rattray, Brighton and Hove City Police Divisional Commander, does just that, it makes a refreshing change.

Police resources are stretched but Mr Rattray did not use this as an excuse, instead he fully admitted that mistakes had been made.