An escaped prisoner is recovering from surgery to remove a bullet from his leg after he was shot by a police marksman.

Detectives were expecting to interview the unidentified man who climbed on to scaffolding in Brighton city centre in the early hours of Good Friday morning.

The man was shot in the leg after he opened fire on police who found him on scaffolding on the side of St Peter's, one of the most prominent churches in Brighton.

Just before 1am he had phoned the police, told them he was wanted by them and was at the church with a gun.

Officers, including members of the force's tactical firearms unit, arrived to find he had climbed the scaffolding on the east side of the church.

As clubbers streamed out of the Pressure Point and Gloucester clubs nearby, the man started shooting, firing several shots at officers nearby.

Several minutes are believed to have elapsed before the police responded.

They then fired one shot and, although officers did not realise it immediately, they hit the man on the leg.

Soon after the man surrendered to officers and was taken to hospital where he was treated for injuries which were not life threatening.

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) has been called in to investigate the shooting at the request of Sussex Police and an officer from Kent Police has been appointed to head the investigation.

PCA member David Petch said police were still in the process of tracing the gunman's relatives but confirmed he had absconded from prison, where he was serving time for a serious violent crime.

Police said the man, who is originally from Sussex, fired shots at police first.

A spokesman for the PCA said it was unclear what type of gun was used.

Earlier reports suggested it was a type of air rifle but scenes of crime officers were seen recovering what looked like a handgun.

Mr Petch said: "This man was firing at the police but clearly someone discharging a firearm is a danger to the public.

"It's early days in the investigation and it will be very much down to Kent Police to look into this further."

A spokesman for Sussex Police said the reason why the man was on the scaffolding would form part of the investigation.

However, he said: "We published a report earlier in the year and it showed the vast majority of those who are shot by police are disturbed."

The roads surrounding St Peter's Church were sealed off yesterday morning, disrupting traffic on one of the busiest days of the year.

Thousands of tourists pouring into the city were greeted by a police cordon and closed-off roads, causing tailbacks as far away as Patcham.

Roads were reopened by 10.30am.

Parts of the church remained taped off by a police cordon to allow scenes of crime officers to do their work.

A gun was still lying on the ground beneath the scaffolding yesterday while officers carried out a search of the surrounding area.

Two services were due to take place at the church on what is one of the most important dates in the Christian calendar.

With 100 people due to turn up for the 1pm service, anxious officials made early contingency plans to move to nearby St Martin's Church.

However, police reassured them their worship would not be disrupted and the services went ahead as planned.

Father Michael Wells, associate priest at St Peter's, said the shooting was bound to have an effect on worshippers on such a religious day.

He said: "The events will slightly marr the day. But I suppose there is a kind of irony about the whole thing.

"Good Friday is when we remember the day of the Cross and if there is a shooting outside the church it reminds us of all the things Christ came to Earth to redeem us for.

"But we will not let it spoil the day and the services.

"The truths of the Crucifixion and Resurrection are eternal, even if circumstances were to stop us celebrating the day in our usual way."

Police are appealing for anyone with information about the shooting to call 0845 6070999 quoting Operation Pillar.