A mini baby boom is being experienced as hospitals deal with an unexpected surge in births caused by the January snow storms.

Staff at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath have come under increasing pressure in recent days as mums in labour come through their doors.

Both hospitals had 78 births between them from last Friday to Monday compared to the 60 they would normally expect.

Sunday was the busiest, with the Royal Sussex having 13 births instead of the usual nine and the Princess Royal having 13 instead of six.

The boost has been blamed on the snow and icy conditions that swept across Brighton and Hove and the rest of Sussex at the start of January.

The cold spell, the worst to hit the area for more than 30 years, lasted for several days, meaning more people ended up staying at home instead of going out.