Sussex Police have been criticised for sending two officers on a six-week "jolly" to San Francisco.

The trip, paid for by a £5,000 bursary, will allow the officers to take part in a Pride march and learn how US police deal with the lesbian, gay and transgender (LGBT) community.

The officers, based in Brighton, which is often dubbed Britain's gay capital, say the information will be used to enhance relations between police and homosexuals.

Some Tory councillors have branded the trip a "jolly good jolly". They said the money would be best spent locally because the police should already understand the needs of the gay community in Brighton.

The officers, Sergeant Mark Andrews and community liaison officer Lisa Timerick, left for San Francisco on Tuesday.

Councillor Brian Pidgeon, who serves Patcham, said: "With all the experience Sussex Police have in dealing will all communities in Brighton and Sussex, I fail to see why they are sending two police officers to America.

"I know it is funded by the Home Office so it's not coming out of rates but somebody has to pay and it is the taxpayers who are paying. Frankly, it is a jolly good jolly."

He said the community needed the officers on the streets more than the information from the trip.

Peter Willows, a Tory councillor for Hangleton and Knoll, said: "It is a waste of money. What difference will it make to us in England?

"Brighton and San Francisco are two different cities in two different countries."

Others in Brighton and Hove, which has an estimated gay population of 40,000, were unhappy with the trip.

Andrew Phillips, 35, said: "If Sussex Police want to learn how to communicate with gay people they should get out on the streets of Brighton and talk to them, not a bunch of coppers half way round the world."

Chief Superintendent Paul Curtis, Brighton and Hove divisional commander, said the £5,000 bursary was from the Superintendents' Association, which was not funded by local taxpayers but a combination of members' subscriptions and a direct grant from the Home Office.

He said: "I've no doubt this trip will be extremely beneficial to the LGBT community in Brighton and Hove and the trip has my full support."

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said the officers were taking two weeks of the six-week trip as holiday leave. Other officers are trained to deal with LGBT issues in their absence.

She said: "Historically the relationship between the LGBT community has been very delicate. But over the past two years we have come on in leaps and bounds in improving that relationship.

"The research trip will not only be useful to Brighton but across the UK as the officers will share their findings with the Superintendents' Association."

The trip has also received praise from other councillors and organisations.

Councillor Garry Peltzer Dunn, leader of the Conservative party, said: "I certainly don't think it's a waste of money. Just because we have some experience does not mean we can't learn from other people."

Simon Williams, a Green councillor for St Peter's and North Laine, said: "San Francisco has a similar demographic which should make it a good place for us to learn from and share some of the things happening here."

Councillor Paul Elgood, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "I am not always in favour of overseas travel but in this case I think it is exactly the right thing to do. San Francisco is often seen as the gay capital of the world and they have already been through what we are going though at the moment."

Spectrum and Pride were also in full support of the trip.