DETECTIVES have arrested another member of staff at Brighton and Hove City Council’s waste collection department on suspicion of fraud.

The 50-year-old Cityclean worker was arrested yesterday morning.

He has been interviewed over the allegations and released but remains under investigation.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: “the man was arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and theft, by Brighton detectives investigating an alleged fraud against the City Clean department of Brighton & Hove City Council”

A city council spokesman said: “To protect confidentiality and to ensure all due process is fair, we cannot currently provide any information on this, but as soon as is possible and appropriate, we will provide any details that we can.”

It is understood the man was arrested at the Hollingdean Depot.

This comes after the arrest of two other workers at the depot on suspicion of fraud in May.

One, a 36-year-old Peacehaven man, was arrested on April 17 on suspicion of fraud by false representation.

A 39-year-old man, also from Peacehaven, was arrested on April 30 on suspicion of fraud by abuse of position.

They were both released under investigation.

Previously reported by The Argus, an audit has been ongoing at the council’s Cityclean depot in Hollingdean for several months.

In January this newspaper revealed that two senior members of staff at the depot had been suspended by the council.

Tension between union reps and council bosses has been rising in recent months over alleged “anti-trade union attacks” by the council.

They say the council has been compiling “secret dossiers” on union members – an allegation the council denies.

Brighton’s binmen had planned to strike during the city’s busiest weekend of the year, Pride.

But the union then announced it has agreed to “suspend industrial strike action in good faith”.