A Sussex firm will supply equipment to a cancer treatment centre which it is said will be the world's most advanced.

Work starts later this year on a £6 million revamp of the Oncology Centre at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

It will be fitted with three £1 million linear accelerators, X-ray machines which direct radioactive beams into deep-rooted tumours.

Brighton Health Care NHS Trust is also building and furnishing an extension to the centre This will include a new ground-floor clinic area and an extra physics room where treatment levels can be worked out.

Equipment is being supplied by Crawley-based firm Elekta, an international leader in cancer treatment equipment supplies.

George Deutsch, head of oncology at the centre, said: "We have chosen Elekta to supply the equipment because they are the acknowledged leaders in this field and have pioneered some of the most significant breakthroughs in cancer treatment in recent years.

"As a result of this collaboration, Brighton will become one of the leading centres in the UK with the capability to provide the most advanced treatments anywhere in the world."

Elekta general manager Keith Larkin said: "We are delighted to have been chosen by Brighton.

"Our proximity will provide a very close working relationship which will ensure that Brighton remains at the forefront of cancer treatment development."