Two hospital operating theatres in Brighton have been shut because of a leaking pipe.

The theatres at the Royal Sussex County Hospital are not expected to reopen until early in the new year.

Health bosses are making alternative arrangements to use the hospital's other theatres while repairs are carried out.

The water has damaged the floors and walls of both theatres, which were refurbished a year ago.

Investigations are being carried out to find how the leak developed.

Lee Soden, the hospital's director of facilities, said: "We are doing everything we can to minimise the disruption to patients."

The hospital is waiting to hear whether an application for a £13 million Government grant to refurbish three of its main theatres and build a seventh has been accepted.

Bosses say the 35-year-old facilities need a radical overhaul if they are to meet new health and safety standards.

If nothing is done, the Royal College of Surgeons may class them as unfit for use.

The theatres' floors are in poor condition and ventilation, electrical and other engineering services are outdated.

Back-up systems for lights have collapsed which means in the event of power failure none would be available.

The seventh theatre would help the hospital cope with an expected increase in patients as Sussex's population continues to age.