Sussex Police have got their skates on when it comes to tackling problems with crime and vandalism.

Two officers in Brighton and Hove are the first in Britain to have been issued with in-line skates to patrol the seafront.

The officers can patrol the area between the piers within a couple of minutes whereas it would take ten to cover it by foot.

They've already surprised drug dealers by skating up to them speedily and getting into crowded areas where bobbies on bikes have difficulty.

The skates are yet another weapon against crime being used by a force which is not afraid of innovation.

At the same time, figures show Sussex is bucking the national trend by cutting crime when it is soaring nationally.

People will be particularly pleased to know there has been a sharp dip in the number of burglaries and in vehicle crime.

The only real worry is the increase in violent assaults which are also a problem in other parts of the South-East.

New Chief Constable Ken Jones promised to make the police more effective when he took charge of the force.

There's a long way to go but he has made a good start and has managed to improve police morale.

The innovative idea of in-line skating seafront officers is the kind of effective, localised and appropriate policing the county needs.