More elderly patients are stuck in Sussex hospitals waiting for nursing home places than almost anywhere else in England.

Department of Health figures show about 200 patients over 75 are waiting in the West Sussex Health Authority area.

This is the third highest in the country, with only Birmingham and Avon health authorities higher in a table of 95 authorities.

East Sussex, Brighton and Hove Health Authority comes 12th in the table, with a reported 109 waiting.

Both authorities said the problem had mainly been caused by a high demand for services and a lack of nursing home places.

They said social services must pay more to private nursing and residential home owners to encourage them to stay open.

Dozens of nursing homes in both East and West Sussex have closed in the last two years.

Many owners cannot afford expensive improvements to meet new care home standards that come into force next April.

The Government recently awarded West Sussex Social Services £2.31 million to tackle the problem, while East Sussex was given £1.25 million and Brighton and Hove £537,000.

Worthing and Southlands Hospitals have an average of 50 patients waiting to be transferred.

The problem has been particularly acute at Eastbourne District General Hospital, which at one stage had 85 blocked beds, although this has now dropped to 65.

A spokesman said: "Apart from the issue of finding nursing home places, patients have to wait in accident and emergency departments for a long time until a bed can be found and non-emergency operations are cancelled because no bed is available."