Hospitals are to be given new equipment to help diagnose heart disease more quickly.

Eastbourne District General Hospital and St Richard's Hospital in Chichester are among 21 hospitals in the UK to benefit from a New Opportunities for Health payout.

The equipment will be used to establish a new catheter lab, which will employ the latest X-ray technology, costing about £1 million.

Patients will be able to receive a coronary angiography, which involves inserting a small tube into a person's wrist or leg.

Through this tube, the heart arteries can be seen and treated.

Specialised X-rays enable the cardiologists to investigate and treat the right parts of the heart.

The grants are the latest from the £297 million New Opportunities' fund, to help cut heart disease, cancer and strokes.

Jill Pitkeathley, chairwoman of the fund, said: "This new investment of diagnostic equipment will make a real difference to the quality of life for people and will help ensure all patients have access to the right treatment at the right time."

Nikhil Patel, consultant cardiologist at Eastbourne, said: "This constitutes a major investment in cardiac services within East Sussex. It will enable Eastbourne Hospital to continue providing and developing an excellent service for the local population."

Robert Lapraik, chief executive at Royal West Sussex NHS Trust, which runs St Richard's Hospital, said: "The new facilities will be incorporated into our Diagnosis and Treatment Centre and will mean our patients will not have to travel to other cardiac centres for these tests."