Almost 50 per cent of women seeking an early abortion in Sussex are paying for a private operation.

A senior MP today claimed the women are being forced to meet the cost themselves because they are being let down by the NHS.

Figures from the Department of Health say only 54 per cent of women in East Sussex and Brighton and Hove who had a termination in under ten weeks last year had it performed by the health service. In West Sussex, the figure is 55 per cent.

In a large number of regions, the NHS carried out more than 80 per cent of terminations of under ten weeks.

Now Sandra Gidley, a member of the Commons Health Select Committee, has attacked the Government's failure to reverse years of Tory underfunding of family planning services.

The Liberal Democrat MP, who obtained the figures in a parliamentary answer, said she was shocked by the huge differences between health authorities.

She stressed the importance of abortion services being available as early as possible in pregnancy once a woman had taken the decision to have a termination.

Mrs Gidley said: "Most women who decide they want an abortion will go to a family planning clinic to have it performed through the NHS."

But, she said, significant numbers of women having the operation privately suggested the option was not there.

She said: "That can only add to the rate of teenage mothers."

A spokesman for Brighton and Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust said: "These figures need further investigation and a clearer understanding as to whether it's an issue of patient choice or a problem with the NHS supplying timely abortions."

A department spokeswoman admitted abortion services were inadequate in many parts of the country, forcing women to pay for a termination.

Next year, all primary care trusts (PCTs) will be told they must ensure all women opting for an abortion are offered it within three weeks.

£1 million has been set aside to help PCTs meet the new standards as part of a wide-ranging sexual health and HIV strategy.