THREE arrests were made after reports of a racist attack in a town centre.

Police were called to a fight in Western Road, Bexhill in the early hours of Wednesday.

They were alerted by a CCTV operator.

Officers met two victims in London Road ten minutes later, and they reported being assaulted by a group of three people in Western Road and again in Town Hall Square between 12.20am and 12.30am.

Two teenagers were arrested at the scene, including a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and a 19-year-old on suspicion of racist or religiously aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possessing a class B drug.

A third youth, aged 16, was later arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault.

Inspector Jonathan Hartley said: “We have CCTV operators monitoring a number of busy areas in the town, and incidents like this prove how invaluable those eyes can be.

“The swift actions of the CCTV operator working closely with officers on the ground enabled us to respond to the disturbance quickly and with adequate resource, making sure our victims were supported and arrests were made within a short space of time.

“We still encourage people to contact police to report a crime. People should always call 999 in an emergency.”

All three suspects have been released on conditional bail until September 29 while enquiries continue.

Any witnesses are asked to contact Sussex Police online or call 101 quoting serial 32 of 02/09.