An additional 4,000 people are expected in Hastings tomorrow with big events including PierJam and the Hastings Beer and Music festival.

There have been recent concerns about levels of policing in Hastings, with the continued closure of the custody unit at Hastings police station it means that anyone arrested and taken in to custody is having to be shipped across to Eastbourne taking up valuable time that response officers could be spending on the front line.

In addition to Pier jam and the Beer Festival there are likely to be a significant number of people in the town centre tomorrow watching England take on Sweden in the world cup with the potential for public order issues to arise during and after the match.

Earlier this year we asked Sussex Police about numbers of officers policing Hastings and we were told: “Our response officers work across the division as one, rather than as separate areas and we continuously monitor demand and cover the areas where there is the most need.”

This week the issue of how many response officers would be on the streets of the town this weekend was raised twice with Hastings In Focus, so we asked Sussex Police to comment.

Our question was: “(we) understand there could be fewer than ten response officers on duty from a Hastings base covering Hastings and Rother… Is there any comment you can make…?”

We were told: “Keeping communities safe and feeling safe is one of Sussex Police’s top priorities, and to achieve this we ensure resources are available when and where they are most needed. With the upcoming events in Hastings this Saturday – coupled with England’s World Cup match against Sweden – we will have additional resources in place across the district. We want everyone to have fun but also to stay safe, and we would encourage anyone with any concerns to contact us.