Crashes involving patrol cars are costing cash-strapped Sussex Police hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

Last year alone ten force cars worth £42,300 had to be written off after being wrecked in accidents while the force also paid out more than £171,061 in compensation to members of the public hurt in collisions involving officers.

The previous year crashes destroyed vehicles worth £33,496 and £482,583 was paid out in damages.

The costs were revealed as Sussex Police began work to save tens of millions of pounds to meet budget cuts being imposed because of the national debt.

The first round of cuts are being made with the loss of 69 officer posts and 13 staff and the force has said it cannot rule out more job losses in the search for future savings.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "The total of 10 written off police vehicles last year needs to be seen in the context of more than 1,000 vehicles we have at any one time, most of which are operational 24 hours a day patrolling the streets of Sussex.

“Where there are claims, fault has to be established.”

A spokeswoman for road safety campaign group Brake said: “The emergency services when responding to emergencies should always be risk-assessing the situation."