SUSSEX Police have confirmed the “suspicious package” which delayed the Pride parade by almost two hours was in fact a pinhole camera.

The force has revealed that an empty drink can with photographic card inside strapped by duct tape to a road sign was the reason the biggest event in Brighton and Hove’s year was thrown into jeopardy.

The mystery was solved thanks to The Argus and our sharp-thinking readers who linked the disruption to an article which appeared in our paper more than six weeks ago.

The bomb threat caused the parade route to be diverted at the last moment and led to the destruction of the camera secured to a post in King’s Road, Brighton.

It was feared that the security threat may have been caused by a homophobic hate group but a less sinister truth has now been uncovered.

Sussex Police detectives have determined that the item was not placed there deliberately to disrupt the Pride parade and say it bears similarity with two similar items found in Brighton Marina multi-storey car park last month and near St Peter's Church in August 2013.

Suspicions that the package may have been a pinhole camera first surfaced in the comments section of The Argus website on Sunday.

The paper then contacted pinhole camera enthusiast Nick Sayers who said the camera was not his but then alerted the police to the fact that another photographer may have placed it there.

Detective Inspector Julie Wakeford said: "We have linked all three items as pinhole cameras.

“No offences have been committed on this occasion as there was no deliberate intent to disrupt or cause harm and we do not believe that the person responsible considered the implications of placing that item at that location.

"The item on Saturday did look like a suspicious device and we were concerned enough to call in the bomb disposal unit, who after making a further assessment, also agreed it was highly suspicious and carried out a controlled explosion.

"It is reassuring to know that there was no intention of targeting Pride or any particular community.”

Detectives also warned photographers they should seek permission to place pinhole cameras items in public or on another person's property and failure to do so could mean lead to public nuisance or criminal damage offences.