An ancient tradition was revived to mark the last sitting of Arundel Magistrates' Court.

Divisional legal manager David Bathurst presented a pair of white gloves to court chairman Sally Godfrey, designed to show that the borough was now "clean of crime."

The ceremony took place after the final sitting of a court which had been for dispensing justice from Arundel Town Hall for more than 100 years.

The Arundel bench, which had 32 magistrates, will now have its caseload divided between courts at Worthing and Chichester.

The Sussex Magistrates' Courts Committee said the court complex was no longer able to meet modern needs and did not have the space to be upgraded.

Mrs Godfrey said: "I am sorry we are losing our courthouse but we are looking positively to the future and the creation of the new Western Bench."

Criminal courts have been sitting in Arundel for an estimated 600 years with the last century spent at the Town Hall.

A spokesman for the courts' committee said money was being invested at Chichester and Worthing to improve services and reduce delays.