Village alert over missing children

More than a dozen officers converged on the area in search of the eight-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl, who were brother and sister. Officers conducted area searches and house-to-house enquiries to locate the children.

Police also called on parish council contacts to assist, which led to villagers being mobilised in the early stages of the enquiry. As a result, nearly 50 people joined the search for the children.

Luckily, both were found within three hours at a friend's house in a neighbouring village.

Chief Inspector Grenville Wilson said: 'We are all pleased that this incident was resolved with a happy ending and the children being reunited with their mother.

'The co-operation and joint effort demonstrated between the officers from the neighbourhood policing teams and the local community, mobilised through our contacts with the parish council, is a shining example of how problems can be quickly resolved when we work together.'

He said that prior to the formation of the new neighbourhood policing teams in October, such community contacts at grass roots level did not exist.

'This kind of joint community action would not have been possible just a few weeks ago,' he said. 'What this incident does is highlight the effectiveness of the new policing regime which should seriously contribute to making Wealden safer.

'I thank all those who assisted in the rescue operation on Thursday. Without their help we Sussex Police could not have traced the children so quickly.'

It is believed the children's mother raised the alarm at 5.18pm when the pair had still arrived home from school. They were reunited with their family at 8.16pm.