Time is running out for parents and staff who hope to save a 30-year-old East Sussex nursery.

But they say they haven't given up hope of finding a buyer for St Michael's Nursery, New Town, Uckfield.

The nursery has been run by nuns for three decades but they are past retirement age and can no longer cope.

William Swabey, business manager for the nursery, set in the grounds of St Michael's Convent, said the only hope was a buyer stepping forward at the 11th hour.

He said: "We are still talking to people which is something. We want there to be some hope but if we can't find anyone we will have to go through the process of closure.

"We are keeping our fingers crossed, that's as much as we can do."

Parents first heard about the closure through a letter from chairman of the trustees Sister Maria Goretti.

She said the nuns who oversaw the running and finances of the nursery, which has more than 100 children registered, had tried to find a buyer for the past six months without success.

Carly Singleton, from Uckfield, whose three-year-old daughter Charlotte goes to the nursery, said: "It's a great shame."