A request to release police files on the fatal shooting of an unarmed man seven years ago has been denied due to cost.

Sussex Police said to photocopy the 30,000-page report into the death of James Ashley would cost taxpayers £3,000.

Ashley was gunned down at a flat in Hastings as he got out of the bed he had been sharing with his girlfriend.

It emerged yesterday that a request was made to the force under new Freedom of Information Act legislation.

Under the Act, requests for information from public bodies must be met within 20 working days.

However, the authorities can refuse a request if finding and extracting the information will cost more than £450. There is a right of appeal.

Mr Ashley's family said all papers relating to his death should be released to allow a full and public inquiry to go ahead.

They said they have been denied justice despite years of lobbying ministers and Sussex Police.

Speaking from Liverpool, his sister, Pauline, said: "We want the public to know every piece of information Sussex Police holds on the case because we feel they have a right to know.

"We have been striving for this for a number of years. Nothing should be hidden."

Police raided Mr Ashley's flat in St Leonards, at 4am on January 15, 1998.

Five officers who helped coordinate the raid were suspended in the aftermath of the shooting. They remained off work for more than three years as criminal proceedings progressed. However, all charges were eventually withdrawn.

Mr Ashley's family vowed to send a wreath to Sussex Police on each anniversary of his death as part of a campaign for a public inquiry.

Five officers are suing Sussex Police for £50,000 each for the way they were treated during suspensions and on return to work.