THE Government has stepped in to buy a recently closed sixth form college site.

The Department for Education has bought the former Central Sussex College campus in Haywards Heath which closed this summer as part of a merger with Chichester College.

It is understood the site will be retained for educational purposes.

The college, now renamed the Crawley College, closed campuses in Haywards Heath and East Grinstead with the loss of 43 jobs in response to debts of £25 million.

The merged college is the biggest in the county with 25,00 students.