A man will appear in court charged with trying to steal diesel containers worth thousands of pounds from a building site.

Ben Nicholls, 33, of Brighton Road, Lancing, has been charged with burglary. He was released on bail and is due to appear at Brighton Magistrates' Court on December 17.

At 9.45pm on October 16 dog handler PC Thomas Mills was on patrol in Withdean with his dog Maddock when he received reports of men acting suspiciously in Withdean Close.

He blocked a car from leaving the site and when other officers arrived a search uncovered containers worth £1,800 as well as tools, radios and work boots.

Three men were arrested on suspicion of burglary.

Inspector Di Lewis, the head of Sussex Police's dogs unit, said: "PC Mills not only blocked in the car and stopped it being driven away, he also made inquiries and confirmed the items in the back of the car had been stolen from the building site.

"Our dog units are not just used for searching for suspects or sniffing out clues - they are on duty around the clock each day responding to all kinds of emergencies."

A 25-year-old man from Brighton was released without charge.

Robert Rees, 32, of Chailey Road, Brighton, was charged with burglary. He appeared at Brighton Magistrates' Court where he pleaded guilty to burglary and was given a six-month suspended prison sentence. He was also ordered to do 40 hours of community service.

Anyone with information about the incident should email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk quoting 1634 of 16/10 or call 101.