Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression are concentrated in some of the most deprived parts of Sussex, a new study has warned.

The investigation by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP)

highlights 20 wards across the South-East, with Queen's Park in Brighton and Hove at the top of the list.

Fifteen out of the 20 were in Sussex, including parts of Brighton and Hove, Hastings, Eastbourne and Worthing.

No Sussex wards featured in the 20 locations with the lowest incidence of mental health in the South-East.

The CSP study looked at health problems such as anxiety and depression and found they were concentrated in pockets of deprived areas.

The ratings given to each ward were based on adults under 60 who were found to be suffering from a mood or anxiety order and took into account the age and sex of a population as a whole.

A ward with exactly the expected number of cases of mental illness in their area was given a rate of zero.

Those with more cases than expected were given a ranking above zero.

Queen's Park was given a ranking of 1.80, which placed it 23rd throughout England.

Central St Leonards in Hastings came in third in the South-East with a ranking of 1.59 and was closely followed by East Brighton with a figure of 1.57.

The highest rate in England was in Newcastle with 2.53.

The CSP is calling for significant improvements in the provision of treatment for people with mood and anxiety disorders.

It wants investment in appropriate healthcare services and greater attention to the root causes of such conditions.

Graham Millett, director of the Brighton and Hove branch of the mental health charity Mind, had some reservations about the report and its emphasis on deprived areas.

He said: "People with mental illness are not a group and the reference to pockets within areas does not mean you can concentrate extra resources in that area.

"People need to be dealt with as individuals."