MORE needs to be done to protect the elderly and to punish those who harm them, the county's police and crime commissioner has said.

Katy Bourne said adult protection needed to be taken "as seriously as child protection" but there was a long way to go.

She echoed calls from a national charity for crimes against elderly - often fraud or physical abuse - to be categorised as aggravated offences.

That would mean they could attract tougher sentences, such as for racially motivated or hate crimes.

She said: "We do need new laws to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our communities - often to protect them from the very people charged with their care or from their own families.

"For too long, we have turned our face away from the unpalatable treatment of older people. By doing so we are also refusing to look our future selves in the mirror.”

Charity Action on Elder Abuse, which this week launched a campaign for elderly abuse to be an aggravated crime, said that nationally offenders are often treated too leniently.

Mrs Bourne said she did not have the figures to know whether that was the case in Sussex, but called for "tougher legislation".

She said she was working with Wealden Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani to open a discussion on the issue in parliament.

A commission the PCC set up to hear from elderly people in the county, she added, had been shocked at the reports of abuse that emerged far ahead of concerns about, for example, anti-social behaviour.

Sussex Police has highlighted recent cases of fraud against the elderly, including a 92-year-old man from Pulborough who was defrauded of nearly £68,000.

The force says fraud has on the whole replaced offences such as burglary against the elderly.

Detective Chief Inspector Tracy Edwards said the force was also working with the Victim Support charity to better help elderly victims.

She added: "Sussex Police works closely with partners, including from the voluntary sector, to support victims of elder abuse."