The number of bobbies pounding the beat has fallen by more in Sussex than anywhere else in the country, according to new figures.

Uniformed patrols between 1996/7 and 1999/2000 fell 27 per cent from 1,601 to 1,176, according to Home Office figures.

Lewes MP Norman Baker said the statistics were a "big shock" for residents and said he would take the matter up with acting Chief Constable Maria Wallis.

Mr Baker, the Lib Dem's spokesman on police matters, said: "These are very worrying figures which should concern us all.

"Local people repeatedly make it clear to me that they want more police on the beat, not fewer.

"I am continually receiving letters of complaint from residents in towns like Seaford who say there simply are not enough police around to deal with the incidents of vandalism and unruly behaviour that are sadly all too common.

"We need an explanation for this 27 per cent drop over three years. I can only assume officers have switched from patrol duties to other work, exactly the opposite of what the public is demanding."

A spokesman for Sussex Police said the force was puzzled by the figures.

He said: "We do not believe the figures are as dramatic as they sound and we do not believe they accurately reflect what is happening on the ground.

"For instance, patrols comprise beat patrols and 999 responses.

"Then there are the special operations which involve extra patrols, like Operation Searchlight which swamps major centres with officers at busy times.

"The proportion of staff and police working in the front-line is going up all the time, plus we are recruiting more officers."