Sussex Police is unlikely to pay for community support officers if Home Office funding runs dry.

Chief Constable Ken Jones said he welcomed any initiative to make the county safer but the force would not support the scheme with money which otherwise would pay police officers and support staff.

Twenty-two of the civilian officers (CSOs) are soon to tackle antisocial behaviour and public order problems in Sussex following a £250,000 grant from Home Secretary David Blunkett.

However, the force and its watchdog, the Sussex Police Authority, are nervous that when the money runs out the force will be expected to fill the financial gap.

Mr Jones said there were no plans to divert budget monies to prop up CSOs but added: "We are determined to make sure funding continues."

He suggested he would have preferred the cash for the force to use as it saw fit, rather than be told where to spend it.

He said: "We would prefer to have additional monies not earmarked for specific projects but we never turn away money that would make our community safer."

The CSOs, dubbed Blunkett's Bouncers, will support regular officers in Sussex.

There will be five in Brighton and Hove; five covering Chichester, Bognor and Midhurst; and four in three other areas - East Downs, including Eastbourne and Lewes; North Downs, taking in Crawley and Horsham; and Senlac, including Hastings and Rother.