WATER missions to Mars, a champion conker pugilist at Sussex Police, life-saving hangliders and dog-walking drones were just some of the choicest April Fool’s news stories this year.

Southern Water announced their plans for an astronaut training scheme to bring water back from Mars for the high water-stress area of Sussex.

Meanwhile Sussex Police had web viewers checking their calendar with a news story that Chief Constable Giles York was in training for the world conker championships.

The spoof story was in fact an announcement that children’s hospice Chestnut Tree House would be the force’s charity of the year.

The Beachy Head Chaplaincy also go into the spirit of the day by announcing the launch of a new summertime patrolling initiative using paragliders during daylight hours.

Cirrus Research may have had a few seaside residents wishing their story about a noise cancelling seagull to eradicate the bird’s sometimes deafening squawk was true

And yes our story in Saturday’s Argus with a warning from the South Downs National Park about dogowners walking their pets via drones was also an April Fool.