Sussex police have caught a teenager with 164 "rocks" of crack cocaine hidden in a bag down his trousers.

Yesterday's bust was the third significant find of the addictive and deadly drug in Brighton in a week.

Police are worried by the influx of crack cocaine and have stepped up operations to round up dealers.

PC Grant McKee, who arrested the teenager, said crack was highly addictive: "Dealers get users on it when they are young and after a few fixes they've got them until they die."

The 17-year-old was spotted acting suspiciously on the Sun Terrace in Madeira Drive, Brighton.

He was taken to John Street police station where officers carried out a strip search.

They found a string bag containing the cocaine rocks, individually wrapped, with a street value of £1,800.

The youth, from London, was continuing to help with police inquiries last night.

PC McKee, beat officer for the area, said: "We have an ongoing operation to stamp out drug dealing.

"I hope this acts as a warning to people who think they can come to the city to make a quick buck from this evil trade."

We reported earlier this year how crack dealers were commuting from London to "work" in the city at weekends.

Last week, police made 17 arrests after closing down two crack houses, one in the city centre and the other in Hollingdean.

Police said women at the Hollingdean address were hiding drug wraps inside their bodies.

Chief Inspector Peter Mills said: "Our message is clear - deal in this wicked trade in this city and you can expect a door-knock from us."

A recent report said Brighton and Hove had the highest level of drug-related deaths per capita of any city in the UK, with heroin accounting for the majority of fatalities.

Mr Mills urged youngsters to say no to drugs and he urged anyone with information about dealers to contact Brighton police on 0845 6070999 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.