Pub goers in Sussex are paying some of the most expensive prices for a pint of beer in the UK.

A report out yesterday revealed pubs across the county charge an average of £2.35 for a pint of real ale.

Only four other counties were more expensive, with Surrey topping the league at £2.51 - 5p more than the average cost in London.

The cheapest was Lancashire at £2 a pint, according to the Good Pub Guide's survey, which compared the prices of real ale served at 1,100 pubs across the country.

But when The Argus did a straw poll of landlords we found prices varied considerably across the county.

Finn Whelan, manager of the Lion and Lobster, in Silwood Street, Brighton, said his establishment charged £2.50 a pint for any of the seven that they served.

He said: "We can charge considerably less than other pubs around here because, as freeholders, we are able to negotiate prices with the brewery. We can choose which beer we buy and from whom."

Landlord of the Lamb Inn in Eastbourne, Steve Hume, said he was forced to increase his prices.

He said: "Rates rise, rent rises and beer prices increase, which puts us in an awkward position. Breweries are not always sympathetic so we have to swallow part of the cost ourselves and pass on some of the hidden charges to our customers."

Despite these increases, 44 year-old Mr Hume's establishment offers it's cheapest pint, Harvey's mild, for £1.80, falling below the average price in Lancashire, by 20p.