More than 50 post offices have been condemned to closure in Sussex so far this year - one every two days.

An investigation by The Argus has revealed the alarming impact on the county of the national cull.

Thirty-two branches have shut since January. Four more will close this month.

Nine are awaiting confirmation of their fate while eight which had been temporarily closed will not reopen.

In Brighton and Hove 11 outlets closed in three days.

Post Office Limited, which made losses of £194 million last year, has now added seven branches in Hastings and St Leonards to its cost-cutting "urban reinvention".

Postmasters and postmistresses have been offered controversial £20,000 cash packages to shut up shop, although the Post Office has insisted these were not "bribes" but signals of gratitude for their years of work.

The organisation argues there are too many post offices, especially in urban areas, competing for too little business.

Today managers promised the cull, which has led to the loss of 18 branches in Brighton and Hove, was over.