LIVE LOG: Keep us in the loop but beware rumours of unrest

LIVE LOG: Keep us in the loop but beware rumours of unrest

10 August 2011

LATEST UPDATES:

01.50am: There are no incidents of disorder in Sussex. Thank you for your continued messages of support via social media. The next update will be in office hours.

00.10am: There has been recent police activity in Littlehampton that has resulted in nothing to report. There are currently no issues or incidents in relation to disorder throughout the rest of Sussex. Continued thanks to the public for your ongoing support.

11.25pm: British Transport Police (BTP) are currently dealing with a fatality at Southwick train station. This is not related to any disorder.

10.30pm: No further incidents. Very little talk online about any disorder. Thank you for positive feedback.

9.25pm: No incidents into the night. It's nice to see much lower levels of concern online now. Sussex people are pulling together and are really helping by not spreading rumours.

8.25pm: Last 'team' message made us sound rather grandly resourced in these times of austerity - in reality it's currently one (very hard working) person sourcing facts and sharing them.

8.15pm: Team updating logs about to change over. Watch this space for updates into the night. Nothing to add at the moment.

7.20pm: A little late on this hourly update, although BBC viewers in the South East Today region will have seen our feature on using Twitter and this website to keep calm and informed, so that may count! We'll post a link to this later when it goes on their website. Nothing new to report.

6.00pm: Still all quiet across Sussex. Two men have been arrested in Hastings by officers investigating reports of people inciting violence on social media websites. See here.

4.55pm: We've just updated our press release below with advice of what to do it you've heard rumours or if you have information we need to know about.

3.55pm: While rumours have significantly decreased today, we have been receiving lots of messages from people who have seen officers out in their area and are pleased to get extra information online. If you have seen something suspicious, do let us know on 0845 60 70 999.

3.08pm: Well, nearly every hour! We've been trawling the logs and it remains a quiet and sunny Sussex.

1.55pm We'll be updating this log every hour and you can keep in touch with us on Twitter - @sussex_police.

1.53pm: Good afternoon. We're back in action to report that it remains all quiet across Sussex this afternoon, unless you've been reading a local newspaper's online report that a car was 'torched' near the Amex stadium. They've calmed down a bit now and the revised report correctly points out that it was an electrical fault! Aside from this, thanks to the media generally for level-headed reporting of the situation in Sussex and to the many voices of reason who've been helping to quash the rumours on social media.

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LATEST PRESS RELEASE (4.55pm):

Over the past few days Sussex Police's call handling centre has been experiencing a high volume of calls from well-meaning people reporting rumours in relation to potential unrest in the county.

The majority of these rumours, generally generated through social networking sites, proved to be false and have been third, or even fourth, hand information.

Anyone who hears about potential unrest first hand or witnesses it themselves is asked to phone Sussex Police. However, if it is clear the information has not come direct from a reliable source people are asked to check the Sussex Police website or Twitter for the most up-to-date and reliable information before calling.

Assistant Chief Constable Nick Wilkinson said: "We are aware of a number of rumours circulating on social media sites and through other mediums.

"Sussex Police officers and staff are working hard to stop inaccurate information causing unnecessary concern. We will keep people informed if any related incidents take place and I would encourage residents to get their information first-hand from Sussex Police by visiting our website and through Twitter."

Sussex Police is also asking residents with vulnerable neighbours to pay them a visit and offer reassurance that there have been no incidents of unrest in Sussex.

Sussex has still not experienced any incidents of unrest in the county. Officers from the county will again be supporting the Metropolitan Police in similar small numbers to the past two nights.

Anyone who would like to report information to police is asked to contact 999 if they are witnessing a crime taking place or 0845 60 70 999 to report any other information.

Up-to-date information regarding the unrest is available from Sussex Police's website www.sussex.police.uk or by following Sussex Police on Twitter @sussex_police