Armed police arrest 3

Officers swooped on Monday afternoon, stopping a car in a layby above the King Offa Way / London Road junction.

Police say the group was arrested in connection with burglaries in Ninfield Road last month.

Traffic was halted briefly as the arrests were made.

A police helicopter was launched to monitor the scene.

One of the car's occupants was later released without charge.

A pair of Hastings men appeared in court on Wednesday charged with being part of a gang which committed the burglaries.

The duo are accused of stealing property valued at 6,890 from a premises in Ninfield Road on June 23.

They are alleged to have returned two days later and committed an armed burglary, stealing property valued at 8,500.

Michael Saldana, 26, of Godwin Road, and Dean Grier, 19, of Nelson Road, are charged with imprisonment, burglary and theft from a dwelling with firearms and weapons.

They will appear at Lewes Crown Court on October 13. Both men were remanded in custody.

The arrests were led by Chief Inspector Tony Blaker of Sussex Police.

He said: "No shots were fired. We diverted traffic for a short time and things were quickly back to normal.

"The helicopter was over the top just to make sure everything was safe and well managed. It was a pre-planned operation.

"We would like to apologise for any inconvenience we caused to anyone on the A259 today (Monday)."