Thousands of Sussex commuters will face disruption from the end of this month as work starts on removing asbestos from Victora underground station in London.

The work will be done in stages and the station will be kept open for most of the time with specialist staff working mainly overnight.

However there will be times when areas of the station will have to be closed for longer periods while work continues.

The District and Circle line areas of the station will be the first areas targeted and will be sealed to ensure safety.

The ticket office in the main ticket hall is planned to close in August 2007 and a temporary ticket office will be located outside the station on the National Rail forecourt.

The work is being done in preparion for a major upgrade of the station which wil lstart in 2009.

London Underground's deputy chief operating officer Howard Collins said: "The asbestos removal programmes are conducted by specialists to ensure there is no safety risk to our customers, staff or local residents.

"The station will remain operational for much of the removal programme as the work will be carried out at night when the station is closed.

"However some work will require longer closure periods and we are looking at a number of options including making use of closures already planned for the Victoria line upgrade.

"The asbestos removal is necessary to facilitate the Victoria Station upgrade works and avoids the risk of delays and unplanned closures during the main construction works."