REFURBISHMENT work on Brighton Police Station has risen by thousands of pounds after builders found asbestos.

The discovery of the cancer-causing building material has meant further delays for the refurbishment of the station in John Street.

Yesterday Sussex Police confirmed the presence of the banned material in the 1960s-built building, increasing the cost of the £14 million project by £170,000.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "Sussex Police employs the services of specialist consultants to undertake asbestos management surveys every three years across all buildings within its estates portfolio. If previously unrecorded and hidden asbestos is found, it is removed by licensed asbestos removal contractors as part of all modernisation and refurbishment projects.

"Due to the discovery of unrecorded and hidden asbestos during the modernisation works at John Street, the total estimated £14 million cost of the project has increased by approximately £170,000."

Asbestos fibres if disturbed and released into the air, and inhaled can cause serious diseases.

The fibrous mineral causes 5,000 deaths every year in the UK according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

It comes after the force decided to undergo refurbishment of the building, rather than relocate away from the heart of the city, in a bid to extend the shelf-life of the building by another 30 years.

The refurbishment includes plans for a new main entrance and vastly improved disabled access to the building.

Police bosses also hope the more modern building will allow more staff to work within the the existing space.

The latest delay comes after building work was halted, after concerns over cladding following the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy. In June last year The Argus reported members of the public had seen new cladding ripped of the building.

Yesterday the force confirmed the cladding was safe following extensive testing.

A spokesman added: "Sussex Police has ascertained that the cladding panel material used at Brighton Police Station is not an aluminium composite material, the type of which was used in the Grenfell Towers renovation project.

"We did carry out a very basic flame test to an insulation board to ascertain the level of burn. As the board wasn’t readily combustible, we will be considering the ways in which we can manage the fire risks and the safety of the occupants in the building."

Building work is expected to be completed by late April 2018/ May 2018.