The number of people dying after contracting a hospital superbug has soared by 50% in a year.

Figures compiled by the Office for National Statistics show 214 people died in Sussex while suffering from the highly infectious Clostridium difficile (C diff), up from 140 the year before.

The Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton had the largest number in Sussex, with 79 cases reported in 2007, making it among the ten highest in the country. It had 34 cases in 2006.

St Richard's Hospital in Chichester had a rise from 19 to 57 while the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath went up from nine to 14.

Cases at Eastbourne District General Hospital stayed the same at 14 for both years while at Southlands Hospital in Shoreham there were seven cases apiece in 2006 and 2007.

Worthing Hospital bucked the trend by reporting a drop in cases from 32 to 22, as did the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards where deaths fell from 25 to 21.

Health bosses said in some cases the deaths may have been caused by other factors and the infection may not necessarily have been caught at the same location where the patient died.

And they said the number of deaths should fall this year because of an extra effort to improve hygiene.