A senior police officer will go on trial today accused of a string of theft and deception offences against a vulnerable woman, a local council and his own force.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Salkeld, of Sussex Police, is charged with 18 offences - eight of theft, nine of obtaining property by deception and one of obtaining a money transfer by deception.

The 42-year-old officer, of The Avenue, Shoreham, denies the charges, which are alleged to have taken place between May 1997 and July 2006.

It is claimed he used a Sussex Police credit card to purchase goods, including padlocks, a mini-fridge, a watch, a DVD player, compact discs and road atlases, from high street stores.

He is also accused of deceiving his employer by claiming more than £1,200 from the Sussex Police Welfare Fund to pay for caravan equipment.

Some of the charges of theft from his employer relate to an expensive fountain pen and dry cleaning and car valet service costs.

Salkeld is also accused of deceiving a woman called Eileen Savage, of Hove, over whom he had power of attorney, by falsely representing that the £55,000 sale price for her home was fair.

He is also accused of stealing more than £84,000 from her, and of dishonestly obtaining more than £70,000 from Brighton and Hove City Council by falsely claiming that she had insufficient capital assets to pay for her care.

Salkeld, who is on conditional bail, has been suspended from his job in the police operations department at Gatwick Airport.

The trial will be heard at Maidstone Crown Court.