Police are waiting to find out how many people will be charged over a racially motivated attack in a town centre.

Up to 40 people were involved in a mass brawl in Clifton Road, Littlehampton, after a group of men armed with bottles and glasses set upon six Eastern European men.

Two police officers and a police dog were injured and five men were arrested and questioned after trouble broke out in the early hours of January 27.

Detectives have now handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service so legal experts can decide how many of the suspects should be prosecuted and for what offences.

Inspector Mark Hammond, of Sussex Police, pledged to root out the "morons" behind the attack, which was treated as a racist incident from the start.

Officers examined CCTV footage of the brawl, while undercover police were assigned to Littlehampton in the aftermath of the incident.

Insp Hammond said: "The local community has been very helpful.

"It is an ongoing process to make sure we kep that sort of person and attitude off the streets.

"We have had absolutely no re-emergence of this type of incident.

"I put that down to our neighbourhood specialist team, which deals with the community side of things.

"We have also been making sure we have been checking things out at various establishments both in uniform and out of uniform."

Officers are hoping for a decision from the CPS later this month.

Insp Hammond said: "We just want a peaceful community where people understand each other.

"It is only the minority who cause trouble, but when they do it causes distress to a significant number of people."

The Eastern European community in Littlehampton is largely made up of Latvians and Lithuanians, who are among 77 different nationalities living in the district of Arun.

Up to 6,000 Eastern European migrants have moved to the districts of Chichester and Arun, most living in Bognor and Littlehampton, since the European Union expanded in 2004.

In West Sussex, migrants tend to work low-paid jobs in the agricultural, horticultural and foodprocessing sectors, as well as in catering and care homes.

A report by Professor Chris Gaine, of the University of Chichester, showed more than a fifth of the migrant workers said they had personal experience of assault.

Anecdotal evidence included one Eastern European man being beaten by a group of youths from a passing car, leaving him needing 35 stitches in his head.

In other incidents, a girl was seriously assaulted in a nightclub toilet by two British girls, while a young man was beaten up by three young women.

Assaults have often involved the victim answering an "identifier" question which reveals their accent to the attacker.

Hostile messages have been scratched into Polish registered cars. Some of the workers said they are afraid to go into pubs and clubs.

Arun Cultural and Ethnic Diversity Forum hosted a conference on attitudes to migrant workers at Bognorís Butlins camp in March.

It has produced a booklet entitled "Myth-busting about Migrant Workers" to challenge unfounded beliefs about migrant workers, particularly that they come to Britain to take advantage of the benefits system.

The leaflet spells out that migrant workers must pay tax and have a national insurance number in order to work.

They are not eligible for benefits or council houses until they have been in Britain for at least two years or have been registered in employment for one year.