A hospital has been forced to stop admitting patients to five of its wards because of an outbreak of a highly infectious bug.

Twenty patients at Worthing Hospital have been diagnosed with the Norovirus, also known as winter vomiting disease, which causes sickness and diarrhoea.

The bed shortages caused by the closures has had a knock-on effect across the hospital, particularly in the accident and emergency department, where patients are having to wait longer to be admitted to a ward.

The outbreak comes at a time when the hospital is experiencing larger than usual numbers of patients as it moves in to its traditionally busiest time of the year.

Emergency admissions to hospital have been a third higher than normal this month which has added to the pressures.

Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust is now asking visitors, patients and staff to pay extra attention to hand hygiene to help tackle the outbreak and use the hand-gel available when they enter and leave wards.

The bug is not a hospital acquired infection and many people in towns around Sussex have been struck down with it.

The trust is asking people affected not to visit the hospital until they have been symptom-free for at least 48 hours.

Hospital medical director Mike Rymer said: "This is obviously a challenging situation to manage but is typical of the type of infection outbreaks that can occur at this time of year.

"We are well prepared to deal with these demands and our patients can be confident that our number one priority continues to be their well being.

"In particular, I want to reassure patients and their families that every step will be taken to support patients in hospital and to enable them to go home quickly and safely."

The trust's dedicated infection control team will continue to monitor the situation and ensure staff take all appropriate action to contain and reduce infection levels.

Worthing is not the only hospital to experience problems with outbreaks confirmed last week at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

Balcombe ward at the Princess Royal is closed to new admissions and there are currently three patients on the ward with the virus.

Chichester ward at the Royal Sussex County Hospital has now reopened but six patients are being treated for the bug on Vallance ward and it is closed to new patients.