A hospital has been forced to stop admitting patients to one of its wards because of an outbreak of a highly infectious bug.

Seventeen patients and one member of staff on Vallance ward at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton have been struck down by a sickness and diarrhoea virus.

Tests are being carried out to see whether it is the norovirus, also known as winter vomiting disease.

The bug can often sweep through hospitals and communities at this time of year, leading to bed shortages and cancelled operations.

Hospital managers are also expecting to be under extra pressure with a potential outbreak of swine flu as well as the more common seasonal flu.