An MP has welcomed a reprieve for a private hospital in Midhurst threatened with closure.

King Edward VII Hospital was thrown a £900,000 lifeline by the NHS to give it time to find a buyer.

The move followed a campaign by hospital staff, patients and residents who said the hospital treated thousands of NHS patients each year and helped keep waiting lists down.

Campaigners said the hospital provided specialist cancer, coronary and orthopaedic services for patients across West Sussex and parts of Hampshire and Surrey.

Howard Flight, MP for Arundel and South Downs, said: "I am greatly relieved that common sense has prevailed at the last hour and the NHS has agreed to provide sufficient cases to King Edward VII for the next two months.

"This is a victory for the campaign that has been so successfully waged by local people.

"At a time when patients are having to travel abroad because of a lack of NHS facilities, it would have been foolish to have allowed the King Edward VII to close and lose the facilities it offers.

"With the reprieve there is now a real opportunity to secure the long-term future of the hospital."

The charity which runs the hospital is working to find a buyer who will help clear its debts and keep the hospital going as a viable concern.

More than 70,000 signed a petition calling for the hospital to be saved.