Demand for flu jabs has left stocks of the vaccine at an all-time low in parts of West Sussex.

Some GPs' practices in towns including Crawley, Horsham and Worthing have been particularly hard hit as demand for the vaccine outstrips supply.

Health chiefs say demand has been higher than expected after a Government advertising campaign.

Ministers want 60 per cent of people at risk from the illness - such as over-65s and patients with chronic health problems - to be inoculated before the flu season starts.

West Sussex Health Authority spokesman Brian Hughes said the problem was not unique to West Sussex.

The authority ordered enough vaccine for the expected take-up but has been caught out by the surge in demand.

He said similar high take-up elsewhere meant manufacturers were having difficulty supplying vaccine.

Mr Hughes said: "In a sense we have been a victim of the success of the programme. We ordered the right amount, the publicity has been more successful than we expected and there has been an excellent take-up rate.

"As a result we have run out of supplies."

He said doctors running short of vaccine should be restocked by mid-November.

East Sussex, Brighton and Hove Health Authority said only a handful of GPs were running short.

A spokeswoman said the company making vaccine for the area had experienced production problems, but had promised to have enough available by the second or third week of November.