Sussex Police have revealed the installation of a new computer system is running more than two years behind schedule.

The £2.3 million crime and intelligence computer system, called Project Nemesis, was supposed to be running on the force's computers by April 2004.

But difficulties have resulted in the system being held up and the roll-out date has been pushed back again.

Experts at Sussex Police now believe the system may not be installed across the whole of the county until the end of next year.

Reports have blamed technical problems and staff sickness for causing some of the delays.

Sussex Police are refusing to reveal how much money they have spent to iron out problems in the system which they described as "severely flawed".

Progress reports from the police also reveal concerns about training facilities for staff, a lack of off-site back-ups and fears of a brain drain when trained staff either retire or move jobs.

Project Nemesis was supposed to merge all Sussex Police's data and it was thought it would help officers reduce crime rates and deal with information.

The force said the system would not be up and running until July last year for similar reasons.

The police are still working on the current system.

A Sussex Police Authority report published on Thursday said a pilot scheme for crime and intelligence had run in Bexhill in March.

The information had come from a meeting held on May 11 by the planning and performance steering group.

It said some system performance issues were experienced during the pilot and were being investigated.

Acting Chief Constable Tony Toynton said: "We are still committed to Nemesis.

"This is state-of-the-art technology which will improve our ability to investigate crime."