An MP is backing a campaign to stop NHS homeopathic services being axed.

Arundel and South Downs MP Howard Flight has put his weight behind the campaign after more than 1,200 people signed a petition against proposals by West Sussex Health Authority to withdraw funding for homeopathy.

Mr Flight said: "The petition shows how strongly people feel about this in West Sussex.

"Given the level of support homeopathy enjoys, I believe the petition will send a clear message to the health authority on this issue."

The petition was organised by the Mid Sussex Homeopathic Group and the British Homeopathic Association.

The health authority is currently evaluating complementary health treatments across the county to decide whether they are financially viable or whether money would be better spent elsewhere.

Campaigners say complementary medicines are becoming increasingly popular, with thousands of patients a year opting for treatment.

They say patients should have the right to choose an alternative form of healthcare that has proved effective.

Mid Sussex Homeopathic Group chairman Peter Mitchell said: "Access to NHS homeopathy has been available to the people of West Sussex since 1948.

"This petition is our last chance to save funding for it.

"People have signed because they don't want access to homeopathic treatment denied to them.

"Doctors have signed the petition because they and their patients know how effective homeopathic medicines can be, particularly when conventional medicine alone has not proved sufficient."

The health authority is expected to decide on possible cuts at a meeting on December 8.