The drugs were buried after a helicopter flew over the beach

Pc Steve Hills had been keeping an eye on the men, who were sat in deckchairs, because he thought they were dealing drugs.

The men were seen frantically digging into the shingle when a helicopter flew over the beach, before leaving the scene.

Pc Hills walked over to the abandoned deckchairs and dug up a haul of cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy tablets.

Sussex Police said the officer, who is based on the seafront, began watching the men on the beach near the Brighton Centre at about 1700 BST on Thursday.

They obviously thought it was a police helicopter and made a sharp exit Pc Steve Hills

He became aware of the helicopter flying low over the beach while talking to a member of the public on the Lower Esplanade.

When he returned to the seafront office he shares with staff from Brighton and Hove City Council, they told him they had seen the men on the beach hurriedly digging when the helicopter appeared.

They had also been caught on CCTV cameras operated by Sussex Police.

PC Hills went to where they had been sitting and using his hands and boots dug around in the pebbles, uncovering three bags of herbal cannabis.

The council workers lent him a shovel and he dug further to find 120 grams of cannabis, with a street value of �280, 12 rocks of crack cocaine worth �240, stashed in a condom box, and six ecstasy tablets with a street value of �60.

Pc Hills said: "They obviously thought it was a police helicopter and made a sharp exit.

"They were down from London for the day and thought Brighton would be a soft touch and a day on the beach to boot.

"They have been proved wrong."