A Sussex Police employee allegedly photocopied extracts from a colleague's personal diary and another left drugs from a crime scene lying in a top drawer, a report has revealed.

A Sussex Police Authority report recording complaints against the force between October and December 2000 showed a support staff worker resigned before a disciplinary hearing over the photocopying claims.

Another civilian employee was given a written warning after confiscated drugs were found in a top drawer.

An authority spokeswoman said the warning was given because the drugs were not properly stored and stressed no crime had been committed.

Other claims investigated by the police involving support staff included account fiddling, bullying, misuse of the police national computer and use of bad language.

Between October and December last year, members of the public made 493 complaints against Sussex Police, an increase of six from the same period the year before.

Investigations into 316 of the complaints are still pending and just five have so far been substantiated.

Three officers were spoken to by their divisional commander after not properly investigating two alleged assaults.

Another officer was given a written warning after not properly looking into a report of a car being stolen and a sergeant was given advice over the same complaint.

Two custody sergeants were given advice after not properly dealing with a complaint a detained person made against other police officers.

A police authority spokeswoman said: "We carry out a detailed complaints procedure and although it is normal to have a high number of complaints, the substantiated ones are normally very low.

"When people are not happy we encourage them to put in a complaint and it is only in this way we can ensure we provide a good service to the people of Sussex. Every case is looked at and if we see areas for improvement then recommendations are made."

Bill Clements, a member of the police authority, said the number of complaints was still too high.

He said: "It is not a very happy situation and we are disappointed complaints are still high compared to neighbouring forces."