A hospital boss has said he supports calls to see more local food served to patients.

Matthew Kershaw, the chief executive of Brighton and Sussex University Hospital Trust, made the comments after a letter from Brighton and Hove City Council.

Following calls from the Conservative group at the council, the local authority wrote to the trust highlighting the benefits of sourcing food locally to patient health, the local economy and to the environment through reduced food miles.

In his response, Mr Kershaw said he would be interested in working with the council and others in the public sector to address the issue.

Mr Kershaw also confirmed the trust is currently discussing “the potential to increase local sourcing” with its contractor, Sodexo.

Geoffrey Theobald, the Conservative group leader on the council, said: “I want to see the collective purchasing power of the local public sector in Brighton and Hove used wherever possible to support employment in the local economy.

“Using locally sourced food is a great opportunity to help our excellent local farmers, growers and suppliers and I shall be pressing the council’s chief executive to take this forward as a matter of priority.”