A STREET warden was abused on the street before police arrived to arrest a suspect.

The Your Eastbourne BID ambassador had asked a homeless man to calm down and leave the area.

But the ambassador reported having to restrain the suspect who have become “physically aggressive” in Bolton Road in the town shortly after noon on Friday. The ambassadors have been helping with queues outside shops and pharmacies, and are classed as key workers.

Your Eastbourne BID chief Stephen Holt said: “Our ambassadors responded to a call from a business after reports that an individual had been verbally aggressive to members of the public and staff. He had already been approached on several occasions and asked to calm down and leave the area.

“Unfortunately, the individual then became physically aggressive towards our ambassadors and was restrained. Our thanks go to the Business Crime Wardens and police for swiftly attending and arresting the individual.”

Mr Holt said video footage of the incident emerged on social media, but said: “Our street ambassadors are highly experienced, having supplied the same service to Brighton for over ten years.

“While the Government is asking people to stay at home, our ambassadors are classified as key workers.

“In the three weeks that they have been working in Eastbourne, they have supported businesses in a number of ways such as assisting supermarkets, pharmacists and convenience stores with queuing, preventing shop lifting and even removing pigeons that were found in a closed shop unit.

“The reports we have from both the Police and the business community have been overwhelmingly positive, and I am very grateful to the team for their hard work and commitment at this very challenging time.”

Police said a 26-year-old man was held on suspicion of common assault.