The equivalent of three hospital wards are being occupied by patients in Eastbourne who are fit to leave but have nowhere to go.

Ten per cent of beds are being taken up by "bed-blocking" patients at hospitals run by East Sussex NHS Hospitals Trust.

Figures show that just under 70 beds are affected at Eastbourne District General Hospital and All Saints Hospital in Meads.

Many beds are blocked because no accommodation has been arranged for patients after their hospital stay, either by their relatives or social services.

The problem of bed-blocking, or delayed discharge from hospital, is so acute that some routine minor operations have had to be cancelled.

It has long been an issue for the trust, as it has for others in Sussex, but hospital managers believe the crisis will worsen during the winter months.

A trust spokesman said: "We, together with social services, are working with our colleagues in primary care to deal with the situation."

The bed-blocking problems come as the trust faces a predicted debt of more than £6 million by the end of the financial year.

Recovery plans are being drafted to claw back some of the expected deficit.