A missing £20,000 digger from East Sussex has been found in a locked container in Sandwich.

The discovery on Saturday came after an extensive search by officers from Kent Police’s Rural Task Force.

It was due to a tracker device that the machinery was uncovered at a rural property in the town.

With the assistance of Kent Fire and Rescue Service, the equipment has been seized.

It will be returned to its rightful owner once police enquiries have concluded.

A spokesman said: "It had been fitted with a tracker device which allowed officers to narrow down their search significantly when attempting to locate it.

"The use of tracker devices on valuable machinery is highly recommended."