A family who have used the same GP practice for 35 years have been told to find another doctor after moving less than four miles away.

Bob Howitt now lives a short drive from the boundary of the Charter Medical Practice in Hove but has been told that he needs to relocate.

Mr Howitt, a builder, said he and his wife Sylvie, 44, and their children were baffled and angry.

He said: "I have been with them for 35 years and my eight-year-old daughter Lucie has a medical condition, which means she is in and out regularly.

"She knows the place well and is really happy with it. When I told her we would not be able to go there any more she started crying.

"We have been given five weeks to find somewhere else.

"We've never been any trouble. We keep the appointments we make, we have a good relationship there and yet we are now off their books for moving just a short distance away.

"It seems red tape is just getting in the way.

"There is a lot of talk these days about patient choice and people having options about where to go. There's no choice about this, though."

Mr Howitt, 46, of South Street, Portslade, had previously lived in Holland Road, Hove.

He said: "I'm really upset about this and also flabbergasted.

We only moved a couple of months ago and when I went to tell the practice about my change of address I didn't expect there to be a problem.

"Now I'm suddenly told I can't stay on the books because of policies about doctors having to go out of their area for home visits.

"We have never had to call the doctor out and have always been been happy with the service we have had.

"A family doctor is always supposed to be there to help and be an important part of the community but we are now going to lose out.

"I know we are not the only people to go through something like this and I think it needs to be highlighted.

"The whole thing has left me completely fed up. I even asked if they could at least keep my daughter and wife on their books but they said no."

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Primary Care Trust said when GPs sign their contracts to run a practice they have to be specific about where their boundaries lie.

She said: "The Charter Medical Practice will tell patients when they fit into another boundary for two reasons.

"The first is safety. If they have to do a call out, for example, they don't want to be visiting patients that live in another area.

"The second is that if they said to one patient they could stay, they would have to do that with everyone and that would not be practical."