Education chiefs in Sussex have been granted almost £26 million to repair crumbling schools.

In addition, East and West Sussex county councils have been given one-off grants to spend on new buildings or classrooms.

East Sussex will receive £1.58 million, while West Sussex gets £600,000.

The cash for repairs comes from the Government's modernisation fund, which aims to transform buildings run down by years of neglect.

Brighton and Hove City Council will get £1.93 million from the fund for clearing its repairs backlog or modernising school buildings.

This could be spent on replacing worn-out roof tiles or fitting new boilers.

A further £437,000 will go to the city's voluntary-aided (VA) schools, which do not fall under council control.

East Sussex will get £4.39 million, with £472,000 going to VA schools. West Sussex will receive £7.69 million, with £1.26 million for VA schools.

Brighton and Hove will get a further £1.1 million to spend on modernisation, while £256,00 will be paid direct to VA schools.

In the same year, East Sussex will receive £2.52 million, with an additional £277,000 going to VA schools. West Sussex will get £4.45m with £742,000 for VA schools.

School standards minister David Miliband said: "We want every pupil to benefit from 21st Century facilities.

"A clear link exists between modern well-maintained schools and high levels of pupil attainment."

The funding allocations were pledged as part of last year's Comprehensive Spending Review.