Lessons learned from a fatal shooting by Sussex Police are to be taken up by forces throughout England and Wales.

Major changes including having a senior officer on duty at all times and trained in commanding firearms incidents were brought in by Sussex after the shooting of James Ashley at his flat in Hastings in 1998.

Sussex was later praised by HM Inspectorate for good practice and now the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) is recommending similar practices should be adopted by forces throughout the country.

The PCA review of shootings, ordered by Home Office minister John Denham, started with the Hastings shooting and covered 23 others nationally. It recommended 48 improvements in procedures.

PCA chairman Sir Alistair Graham said: "Where there is an unarmed police service there has to be close public scrutiny of those exceptional occasions when the police have been obliged to use lethal force.

"As the study shows, this has on occasion resulted in tragic consequences and we believe the recommendations we are making will improve the prospects of peaceful resolution of similar incidents in future."

He said a large number of individuals involved in firearm incidents suffered mental illness or were drunk and the review recommends the Home Office to commission research in this area.

The report told how how Mr Ashley, 39, was naked and in bed with his girlfriend when armed police burst into his room.

Sussex Police was heavily criticised in an independent report and the incident led to the early retirement of then chief constable Paul Whitehouse and the retirement on medical grounds of his deputy Mark Jordan, who was suspended.

Three constables were given advice, two constables and a sergeant were admonished, the officer who fired the fatal shot was cleared of murder and others were acquitted of misconduct.