A DISGRACED peer has successfully sued Essex Police for unlawfully arresting him.

Former Tory peer and leader of Essex County Council, Lord Hanningfield won £3,500 in damages.

He sued the county's force for unlawful arrest and trespass after officers raided his home at dawn in an investigation over his County Hall expenses.

Lord Hanningfield, real name Paul White, was arrested on September 14, 2011, just five days after being released from prison after serving nine weeks of a nine-month jail term for fraud relating to his Parliamentary expenses.