BARGAIN hunters have snapped up deals on nearly 30,000 items from a police eBay page.

Sussex Police runs regular auctions online, which sells weird and wonderful items which have either been seized by officers, or handed in as lost property.

It often includes things like watches, clothes, and bicycles which have been stolen, but it can also include eclectic items like boiler suits or scopes for sniper rifles.

A Freedom of Information Act request by The Argus revealed that the force has raised nearly £850,000 from these sales in the past ten years. Most of the money goes to charities in the county.

Police facilities manager Natalie Tipler said: “We have had nearly 29,000 transactions since the launch of our eBay shop and the money made from the majority of these items will go on to benefit charities across Sussex.

“We have a dedicated team who are trained to assess each item we receive and whether they are fit for sale, have value or need to be disposed of.

“We have had a number of high-value items which have attracted a lot of bidding attention. For example, we sold a Cartier Santos watch for £4,750, a Ridley Noah bike for £925 and a Panasonic camera for £972.

“There are some things, of course, we can’t sell on eBay like tobacco and alcohol. We do make sure that everything we sell is genuine and not counterfeit, like designer clothes, watches and perfume.”

“Where we can sell an item we will. We tend to live by the motto ‘one person’s junk is another person’s treasure’, and even now are frequently surprised by how much some items sell for. There are still lots of bargains to be had each week so everyone benefits.”