Cancer patients have had their operations cancelled after NHS bosses in Brighton ran out of beds.

Last week, every one of more than 800 beds in hospitals belonging to Brighton Health Care NHS Trust were filled.

All non-emergency operations were called off for four days.

The crisis was partly caused by an unexpected increase in patients, with chest infections picked up during the cold spell adding to the crisis.

There were also more than 40 patients waiting in beds because no nursing or care home places were available for them.

Consultant urologist Matthew Fletcher said the shortage had been acute in his department.

He said: "We have some priority cancer patients who have severe illnesses that are life threatening but, because of the problems, we were not able to get to them.

"We have 27 beds but only four of them at the moment have urology patients in them."

Conditions at the hospitals are starting to ease and some non-emergency surgery is going ahead.

Most of the cancelled cancer operations were rescheduled within 48 hours.

Patients waiting for other types of less urgent routine surgery, such as treatment of varicose veins, will have to wait longer for a new operation date.

Although the hospital is running almost at capacity, the accident and emergency department at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton has stayed open.

Trust chief executive Stuart Welling said: "The pressures are enormous but we have managed to keep going.

"Having to cancel operations is clearly very regrettable and we are concerned when any patient's surgery has to be put back because of the added anxiety and stress it causes.

"We are working extremely hard to try to sort this out."