Key ambulance personnel and nurses in Sussex are to be vaccinated against smallpox in case of a terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, the county's health managers were last night referring any worried members of the public to the NHS Direct helpline for information.

The selected personnel would be the front-line staff to deal with any outbreak in the county.

Micro biologists and infectious disease experts will join ambulance crews and communicable disease nurses to form part of the vaccinated core group of NHS workers.

All will be given jabs by the end of this month.

Craig Turton, Primary Care Trust communications manager for East Sussex, said: "There is no evidence of a specific threat of a smallpox attack on the UK but it seems sensible to ensure the NHS can deal with any potential threat."

About 350 people nationwide will be the first to receive vaccines.

They will form 12 regional teams called Regional Smallpox Diagnosis and Response Groups.

The Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority is identifying those individuals in the county who will be asked to volunteer.

One is expected to be Dr Angela Iverson, consultant in communicable disease control for East Sussex.

There are no plans for mass vaccination of the general public but extra supplies of the vaccine have been ordered.

Mr Turton said information on smallpox was being loaded into computers for nurses to answer queries on the NHS Direct helpline on 0845 4647.

The Health Department last night said people who received smallpox vaccines as children, before mass vaccination was suspended, would not be immune to the disease.