Sussex Alerts - Lewes and Seahaven Police

Sussex Alerts - Lewes and Seahaven Police

Friday 18th September 2026

Sussex Alerts - Lewes and Seahaven Police

Dear Residents,

Please find below the latest Sussex Alerts from Lewes and Seahaven Police.

Lewes Police.

Keeping our Rural Communities safe 

Earlier today, officers from your Lewes Neighbourhood Policing Team popped along to the Laughton and District Agricultural Society's Ploughing Match, at Houndean Farm, where they spent time speaking with members of the local rural community, as well as sharing crime prevention advice.

Officers took along a number of SelectaDNA property marking kits, giving attendees the opportunity to take a kit home, and learn more about property marking and how it can help protect valuable items from theft.

Marking and protecting property can make valuable equipment, tools and vehicles much less attractive to thieves.

Visibly marked items are often harder to sell on, easier to trace, and more likely to be identified if stolen, in additition to acting as a deterrent and making criminals think twice before targeting marked items, this practise also helps police identify any recovered property and reunite it with its rightful owner.

Our top tips to help reduce the risk of theft:

If you see anyone acting suspiciously in rural areas, particularly around farms, private land, off-road locations or community buildings, please report it to police at the time.

To obtain a kit contact your NPT online here.

Operation Scramble 

Sussex Police has launched a new operation dedicated to tackling the illegal use of e-bike and e-scooters.

This is not only in response to ongoing community concerns, but also following an increase in reported incidents in the county.

Operation Scramble involves officers from your Neighbourhood Policing Teams, alongside the Roads Policing Unit and the Fatal Five Team, carrying out targeted patrols, community engagement and education and proactive enforcement activity to identify and tackle those using e-bikes and e-scooters illegally.

In Sussex e-scooters are currently illegal to use in public unless part of an authorised rental scheme, and e-bikes must meet legal requirements.

Operation Scramble steps up our response to this issue but teams will continue to respond to illegal usage of e-vehicle throughout the year.

Read out more about Operation Scramble online here.

Vehicle seizures in Newick

In response to concerns raised by local residents and councillors around anti-social driving and the dangerous use of off-road and illegal e-bikes, officers have been carrying out targeted patrols in Newick.

While on patrol late last night, local Police Community Support Officers observed two electric motorbikes being ridden in an anti-social manner.

To avoid unnecessarily escalating the situation or creating further risks within the village, officers maintained observations from a distance and monitored the riders' movements.

The riders were safely followed to the King George V Playing Field, Allington Road, where they were directed to stop and get off the bikes; subsequently both e-bikes were seized and removed from the roads by PCSOs under Section 59 powers.

We hope this result reassures residents that concerns about anti-social and dangerous riding in the village are being addressed, while providing some respite to those affected by this behaviour.

Residents are encouraged to continue reporting incidents to police at the time, contact us online or by calling 101.

In an emergency always call 999.

Operation Spotlight - young driver awareness

As part of the recently launched Operation Spotlight campaign, officers from your Lewes Neighbourhood Policing Team attended Plumpton College earlier this week for a morning of education and enforcement aimed at keeping young drivers safe on our roads.

During the morning, officers including Neighbourhood Youth Officers, and our Fatal Five Team stopped and engaged with a number of drivers and riders in cars, motorcycles and mopeds, as part of the operation, providing advice, guidance and road safety education.

A small number of offences and vehicle defects were identified, including defective tyres and insurance-related issues, with appropriate action taken.

Officers also took the opportunity to speak with students about the Fatal Five factors, which remain the leading causes of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads.

With young drivers disproportionately represented in serious road traffic collisions, the operation aimed to raise awareness of the factors that can increase risk on the roads, and promote safer, more responsible driving habits.

Extended thanks to Plumpton College staff for their support of the operation, and to students for their cooperation and positive engagement, helping to make it a valuable opportunity to promote road safety awareness.

Sussex Police Rural Crime Team updates

Last week saw 'Rural Crime Week of Action', with a number of activities taking place focussing on a variety of crimes the team specialise in responding to throughout the year.

Highlighting the key role the team plays in serving and keeping rural communities in Sussex safe; patrols and engagement days across the county included those aimed to tackle unlicenced fishing, hare coursing, poaching, livestock worrying and organised acquisitive crime.

If you think any of these types of crimes are being committed or taking place in your area, please contact us online or by calling 101.

If a crime is happening or someone is in danger, call 999.

We’d rather you contacted us and we can investigate, than not hear from you - thank you.

Read more about the week here.

Operation Spotlight

Running from 14 September 2026 and runs until 4 October, Operation Spotlight is the national roads policing campaign focused on helping to reduce the number of young people killed or seriously injured on our roads.

The operation targets the Fatal Five driving behaviours that continue to contribute to serious and fatal collisions; these include, careless driving, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, using a mobile phone, and speeding.

As road use increases following the summer period and young people return to schools, colleges and universities, the campaign will use a combination of education, engagement and enforcement activity to encourage safer choices and reduce road harm.

Follow our social media over the coming months for both educational posts with tips, advice and support for young drivers, as well as details of enforcement based activities in your local area.

Contact us

For non-emergency incidents or crime prevention advice, click www.sussex.police.uk (If you report a crime online, we will assess it in the same way as a 101 call).  

Call 101 when you do not require an urgent response. In an emergency when life is threatened or there is immediate danger always call 999.  

Speak to us face-to-face at a police station or contact the local policing team at www.sussex.police.uk/area/your-area.  

If you have a hearing or speech impairment, or other forms of communication difficulties.

Those with textphone can text 18001 101, or BSL users can use SignVideo to provide a Video Relay Service (here: https://signvideo.co.uk/), to report crime through a live online interpreter, who will contact the police on your behalf, when you do not require an urgent response.

In an emergency when life is threatened or there is immediate danger please use the textphone service 18000 or text us on 999.

BSL users can call 999 BSL (here: https://999bsl.co.uk/)  to use a British Sign Language interpreter.

For more information on textphone and Relay UK, including help setting up the Relay APP please visit: https://www.relayuk.bt.com/how-to-use-relay-uk/contact-999-using-relay-uk.html