Nearly one person a week in Sussex is bitten or mauled by a dog so badly they need to be admitted to hospital for treatment.

New figures show most incidents happen in West Sussex, where 43 people needed medical care in one year.

There were 12 attacks on people in Brighton and Hove while East Sussex had 36 over the same period.

The figures cover the period from June 2012 to the end of May this year. Cases involved children and adults, who needed treatments including plastic or reconstructive surgery and orthopaedic care.

Ten people were injured in July 2012 when two Staffordshire bull terrier cross-type dogs escaped into Marline Road, Hastings.

And in May the same year a man was left fighting for his life after he was mauled by a mastiff cross and a Staffordshire bull terrier on Brighton beach.

Last month, a Brighton couple had their Staffordshire bull terrier Patch put down after he attacked them in their home.

In a report published this month, the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre said that nationally: “There were 6,334 hospital admissions for dog bites or strikes, a fall of 1.9 per cent from the 12 months to May 2012 where there were 6,454.

“Admissions were lowest in the South East Coast at 3.6 per cent or 229 admissions.

“Dog bites or strikes were most common in young children with one in six dog bite or strike admissions for a child aged nine years or below.”

In the UK it is illegal to breed or own pit bull terriers, Japanese tosas, dogo argentinos and fila brazilieros as they were bred as aggressive fighting dogs.

It is also an offence for an owner to allow a dog of any breed to be dangerously out of control in a public place.

The number of attacks |has fallen from the 113 recorded in the county the year before.