PATROL cars and a dog unit rushed to the scene when a terrified woman dialled 999 after hearing noises coming from her living room.

The house was quickly surrounded by police officers as woman was convinced she had an intruder.

But this unwelcome visitor was not a burglar, but a tiny mouse.

The drama started when the woman heard noises downstairs and saw flashes of light from torches in her back garden.

She called the police from her bedroom at her home in Northview Terrace, Findon.

Four officers in two patrol cars and a dog unit turned up at the house and the force helicopter was scrambled.

Police cordoned off the area and conducted a search.

The woman, thought to be in her early 20s, was so scared that she insisted on speaking to officers out of an upstairs window.

Officers entered through a window and spotted a mouse in a cupboard. It is thought the woman had been disturbed by her cats chasing the mouse.

The mouse was released in a field.

PC Chris Saunders, Sussex Police press officer for Highdown Division, said: "The caller genuinely believed there was someone on the premises and we will respond to any call of that nature. We were glad to be of assistance."

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