More 1,000 miles of public rights of way have disappeared from the county over the past century.

The Ramblers – a charity for walkers – has carried out extensive analysis of how footpaths have changed over the past century.

By comparing historical and contemporary maps, the charity has estimated 852 miles of protected footpath have been lost and are now part of private land be that homes, businesses or farmland, within the old West Sussex boundary since the turn of the 20th century.

This added to 570 miles lost in East Sussex and a further ten miles lost in Brighton and Hove means a total of 1,432 miles of footpaths have been lost across the county.

Public rights of way are paths that anyone has a legal right to use. While these are predominantly used by walkers, they can include bridleways also used by cyclists and horse riders.

The charity has warned that these losses mean people across the county are missing out on the benefits of walking in nature.

Jack Cornish, head of paths at the Ramblers, said readily available walking routes can have a "massive impact" on health outcomes.

However, he warned these currently benefit "the old, the healthy, the wealthy and the white", while those in more deprived areas have far less access to nature.

The charity has further called for a £650 million investment in paths across England and Wales – which they say could pay dividends in improving the nation's health.

In total, nearly 50,000 miles of public right of way have been lost over the past century In England and Wales.

In recent years, the UK government has been exploring the possibilities of "social prescribing", with trials announced in 11 local authorities in England last year.

The trials will see patients prescribed activities including walking and cycling as an alternative or alongside medication.

A spokeswoman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "We are committed to increasing access to nature and our environmental improvement plan sets out our ambition for every household to be within a 15-minute walk of a green or blue space.”