Sussex Police received more complaints per officer last year than any other force in England and Wales.

Figures released by the Home Office yesterday revealed 1,814 complaints were made against police officers in the county, more than six complaints for every ten officers.

Sussex had the highest percentage of complaints per officer of all 43 forces in England and Wales, almost three times the national average.

The force received more complaints in total than every other force except Metropolitan and West Midlands and had more complaints upheld against it than any other force outside London.

Of the 753 complaints deemed serious enough to be investigated in the 12 months to March this year, 79 were upheld.

The force blamed the figures on the way it recorded complaints and insisted the number of gripes had fallen since changing the system in April to fit in with other forces.

Police chiefs were also quick to point out the vast majority of complaints against officers were not substantiated.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "There have been considerable changes in our recording systems so our complaints procedure is now more aligned to that of other forces throughout England and Wales.

"Subsequently, there has been a 30 per cent decrease in the number of complaints so far this year and that figure is continuing to fall.

"It should also be mentioned that of those complaints investigated, only 10 per cent were substantiated.

This is lower than many other forces and is in line with the national average."

Since April, minor complaints are now being dealt with informally and are not being logged.

The new system led to a total of 392 complaints being recorded over the first three months compared to 507 for the same period last year.