Businesses in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex are being targeted in a campaign to clampdown on TV licence dodgers.

TV Licensing, the organisation that collects the fees, said more than 4,000 businesses in the area could be visited in the next few weeks.

The authority has released a business blacklist of potential evaders in the area.

High Street retailers, garages, bars and restaurants are highlighted as top targets in the drive. The blacklist covers the ten business sectors with the highest evasion rates.

The authority is mounting a campaign to inform businesses in the target groups of the licensing regulations and is warning all firms to check that they have the correct licence.

Research showed one one in five small businesses using television equipment at work either thought they did not need a licence or were not aware of the regulations.

Fines of up to £1,000 for these companies would add up to a total cost to UK small businesses of at least £50 million.

Vanessa Wood, of TV Licensing, said: "The business sector research is part of a move toward more tightly-focused targeting of companies which may not be complying with their legal obligations. There are an increasing number of televisions in use at businesses and it's important companies buy a licence.

"We published the blacklist as a wake up call because many seem to be unaware of the regulations and the chances of being caught are very real."

The Brighton area blacklist covers banking and finance, bars and clubs, hairdressers, factories, restaurants, publishers, bookmakers and travel firms.