Police officers raced to a “suspicious incident” to find a group of caped crusaders and a giant bat.

Sussex Police received a report about a group of dark knights on a rooftop, but the scene of the alleged crime was not Gotham City, but the Duke of York’s cinema in Brighton.

Staff at the historic cinema at Preston Circus were putting up a 4ft bat on the four-storey high roof as an advert for the new Batman film ahead of its release in July.

Jonathan Hyde, Toby King and Alastair MacDonald hoped to fix the bat to the roof before dawn, then film the sun rising behind it – in their own take on the movie’s title, The Dark Knight Rises.

After arriving in the dead of night, the trio’s plan was thwarted at 5.30am when police and firefighters arrived, fearing a possible break-in or suicide attempt.

Duty manager at the cinema Mr Hyde said: “We had this bat symbol made four years ago when The Dark Knight came out.

“We decided to put it back up and film a video ourselves.

“We met outside at 2am – three men all dressed in black.

“At about 5.30am flashing lights appeared and there were firemen in the road.

“We apologised and explained what we were doing.

“We don’t know who spotted us up there and got worried – a neighbour or the police.”

A Sussex Police spokesman said: “Police were called to the Duke of York’s Cinema on Wednesday morning following a report of men acting suspiciously on the roof.

“Officers attended at 5.37am and discovered staff installing promotional material.”

Firefighters from the neighbouring Preston Circus fire station said that they feared the men may be trying to harm themselves.