Police are to excavate a landfill site in connection with the death of businessman Michael Willard.

They have issued a warrant to search Pebsham landfill site at Bexhill.

Mr Willard, 63, suffered fatal knife wounds at his scaffolding firm in Caves Road, St Leonards, on January 10.

Police now want to find the knife and coat which may be connected to the case.

Detective Sergeant Paul Sellings, of Sussex police's major crime branch, said: "We will be excavating an area 50sqm by 3m deep, which is about the size of half a football pitch."

Site manager Ian Tridgell said: "The site covers an area of 25 hectares and accepts about 850 tonnes of waste every day so trying to recover any individual item can be very challenging.

"But we can tell with some accuracy where items disposed of on a specific day are buried.

"As such, the police have identified a relatively small area to excavate."

The excavation is expected to start on Monday and will last up to four weeks.

Derek Hunter, 37, and Stephen Jones, 26, have been charged with Mr Willard's murder. They are due to appear for a preliminary hearing at Lewes Crown Court on Monday.