SUSSEX Police are launching a unique advertising campaign - to recruit informers who will snitch on villains.

The adverts will appear in a local newspaper alongside lonely heart and garage sale columns in a bid to net and disrupt burglars, handlers and drug dealers.

Informers, or snouts as they are sometimes called, can earn four-figure sums in a year for good quality information.

The ad campaign, thought to be the first of its kind in the country, is the brainchild of Eastbourne detectives who have chalked up dramatic successes against criminals in the past seven months.

Det Insp Ron Preddy said the campaign is another way of turning up the heat on prolific offenders.

He said: "Even if we receive no response from the advertisement, it will still disrupt criminals. It is a known fact they are terrified of informers and this is an ideal way for us to put more pressure on them.

"The biggest joy about running informers is that they are very good value for money. Hopefully, by recruiting more, some burglars will caught and others might think twice before committing offences."

A string of initiatives by East Downs police, covering Eastbourne, Pevensey, Hailsham, Heathfield, Lewes, South Chailey and Telscombe Tye, have resulted in the burglary detection rate climbing to 21 per cent.

In Eastbourne, where most police informants are based, the rate has gone up to 29 per cent.

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