Cases of syphilis in the Brighton and Hove have gone up by more than 1,400 per cent in four years.

There were four cases of the disease in the city in 1999 and 63 have been recorded so far this year.

Health bosses are working at full stretch to contain the outbreak, which has mainly affected the gay community.

There have been 105 cases since the outbreak started, which, for a population of 250,000, gives a rate of 42 per 100,000.

In London, where 600 cases have been diagnosed, the rate is ten per 100,000.

Gillian Dean, from the specialist Claude Nicol clinic at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, believes the outbreak is partly due to changes in sexual behaviour and attitudes over HIV/Aids.

Brighton and Hove has the highest rate of HIV infection in the South-East outside of London.

Because fewer precautions are being taken, it has subsequently led to an increase in sexually-transmitted diseases such as syphilis.

She said: "People seem to be less bothered about HIV/Aids.

"Those who were born in 1986 and who are now sexually active would not have seen the big public awareness campaigns.

"There is also the mistaken belief that because of advances in treatment having the condition is not a big deal.

"In fact, it is a big deal. People are still dying and the treatments available can be difficult."

The centre is working to educate as many people as possible about the dangers and trying to find imaginative ways to deal with the outbreak.

Health workers in Brighton and Hove recently visited dozens of gay bars and clubs in the city offering on-the-spot checks for syphilis.

They tested about 600 people and eight new cases were diagnosed.

Dr Dean said: "The feedback was very good.

"A lot of people we met were very enthusiastic about the idea.

"Doing these random checks also helped us find some more cases, which obviously helped."

The Government is planning to launch a new campaign aimed at raising awareness.