Sussex Police cells resembling Victorian dungeons will be phased out in a year following the signing today of a £90 million contract.

Acting Chief Constable Maria Wallis admitted some of the existing cells were "scandalous".

Stalactites dripped from cells at Brighton station and she said it was only good fortune that no one had been seriously hurt scaling steep steps into cells in Worthing.

State-of-the-art custody suites will replace them by the end of next year in Worthing, Chichester and Brighton. Brighton's will be the largest, with 36 cells.

The last to open will be Eastbourne, where land in Dallington Road has still to be purchased.

The force and Sussex Police Authority have signed a contract to build the centralised suites and provide civilian custody officers.

The 30-year contract with Sussex Custodial Services Ltd, a consortium led by Reliance Secure Task Management, goes beyond traditional privately financed initiatives.

Services provided will include custody assistants, doctors, interpreters and cleaning services." Features will include digital CCTV coverage, keyless locks and "safer low-risk cells".

Mrs Wallis said the 62 civilian custody officers currently working for the force would be employed by Reliance. Police sergeants would maintain managerial control over the cells.

She said fears about prisoners being released into residential areas like Hollingbury were unfounded. All would be assessed and some would transported home by police car or taxi.

She said criticism that officers would have to travel further to interview prisoners would be outweighed by the benefits.

Mrs Wallis said: "Information technology services and support staff will be on hand at the centres to make the work of interviewing officers easier.

"More importantly, we are taking our custody facilities into the 21st century, making them safer and better for both prisoners and staff."