The officer in charge of the top-performing police division in Sussex says targeting persistent offenders has paid off.

Superintendent Jim Hammond's Western division - covering Chichester, Bognor and Midhurst - showed the highest percentage of crimes detected in September, at 26.6 per cent.

It was one of only two divisions to meet Sussex Police's target detection rate of 26 per cent. The other was Forest division, which covers Horsham and Steyning.

Mr Hammond said: "A small number of people commit the majority of crimes in our division and we have been extremely successful in targeting prolific offenders, most of whom have spent significant time in prison over the last three years.

"We have also made very large increases in detecting priority crimes such as violent crime and burglary, which are of the highest concern to the public."

Mr Hammond said smaller crimes also counted and officers recently secured convictions for thefts of more than 100 car badges.