Drugs seizures by police in Sussex have more than doubled in the last decade.

The latest Home Office figures show there were 2,460 seizures in 2002 compared with 930 in 1992.

Taking population rises into account, the rate of seizures per million people increased from 670 in 1992 to 1,640 in 2002.

This is still lower than the national average of 2,320 seizures per million people in 2002 - up from 1,260 in 1992.

Detective Superintendent Alan Ladley, of Sussex Police, said: "Sadly, the figures reflect the wider use of drugs in society nationally.

"Sussex is not particularly higher than anywhere else and the number of seizures is a reflection of how seriously we take the problem.

"We are focusing very much on Class A drugs like heroin and cocaine, which cause so much harm, and there will be many more seizures.

"What I must stress is that Sussex remains a safe place to live. There are areas of the country with very much worse drugs problems."

Home Office minister Caroline Flint said the figures, which showed a five per cent increase in drugs seizures between 2001 and 2002, demonstrated the "robust enforcement action" being taken by the police.

She said: "The Government, working with the police and other law enforcement agencies, is driving forward a concerted campaign to tackle drugs at all levels.

"We are working to disrupt the international organised crime gangs who traffic drugs to our shores, pursuing and prosecuting the dealers, treating drug abusers and drug-misusing offenders and educating young people about the dangers of drugs."

Of the 2,460 seizures in Sussex in 2002, a minority of 580 were Class A drugs - including 200 cases of heroin, 190 of ecstasy and 130 of cocaine. The rest were drugs such as cannabis, which has recently been downgraded to Class C, and amphetamines.

Ms Flint added: "The figures cover the period before the Government published its updated drug strategy, which has heralded a renewed attack on the Class A drugs which cause so much harm to individuals and our communities.

"Class A drug use has remained stable since 2001/2 for 16 to 59-year-olds and since 1996 for 16 to 24-year-olds. Cannabis use has remained stable since 2001/2."

She said £1.3 billion would be spent this year on eradicating Class A drugs.