Lewes Town Neighbourhood Panels

Take a closer look at Sussex Police officers and PCSO's from last Monday morning (10 May) and you'll notice a bit of a change.

Gone are the classic uniform trousers and white shirts, to be replaced by black cargo-style trousers and modern 'wicking' black zip-necked shirts - blue for PCSOs. However, while it's an incidental bonus, fashion isn't the driving force behind the change.

Looking for a uniform suited to modern operational policing, Sussex Police have joined up with four other south-east forces to standardise the requirement, making significant savings as a result. Sussex alone anticipates a saving of around £55,000 per annum.

First to wear the new uniform were all officers coming on early turn duty on Monday, but it has already been trialled by a number of staff, including Det Insp Nick Porter who, along with seven colleagues, ran the recent Hastings half-marathon in his.

"After more than 13 miles, the uniform was in better shape that I was," he joked.