A few hardcore protesters gathered outside the Brighton Centre to confront the Prime Minister on his visit to Brighton.

Tony Blair was in Brighton and Hove to give his last ever speech as premier to the Trade Union Conference (TUC).

Accident and emergency staff from Worthing Hospital, including Dr Alistair Mclean, 30, who was dressed as the grim reaper, were there to protest over potential closures and downgrading of NHS services.

A small group of anti-war protesters were also gathered outside during Mr Blair's appearance yesterday.

But the protesters were disappointed as Mr Blair was escorted into the rear of the building through the Russell Street entrance.

The Prime Minister avoided the small group of protesters and simply faced a haranguing from a couple of pensioners.

Deputy charge nurse Jonathan Davies, 34, from Harbour Way, Shoreham said they were hoping to catch Mr Blair's eye with their protest.

He said: "We are trying to highlight the possible plight of all the hospitals in the South East.

"We want them to look at the way the NHS is funded and the NHS regions are funded.

"The South East is vastly under funded and more so than many other parts of the country, every single one of the hospitals in this county is struggling.

"The Government always put this down to bad management but it can't be true that we have bad managers across the board.

"Worthing is a very well-managed hospital and has one of the most effective accident and emergency departments in the South East."

Members of Sussex Action for Peace were also outside the conference chanting slogans, like Tony, Tony time to go.' Police filmed the small band of protesters while they waved their placards outside the centre on the seafront.

Protester Glenn Williams said: "We are here to express our outrage at the war in Iraq, the continuing occupation of Iraq and the refusal of the Prime Minister to speak out against the Israeli attacks on Lebanon."

Some protesters eluded security checks and got inside the conference.

Delegates wore troops out now' T-shirts and waved banners during the Prime Minister's speech. Some heckled Mr Blair and comments about schools raised shouts of rubbish' from some members of the audience.

Lorraine Harding, a delegate for the Public and Commercial Services Union and a member of the Stop the War Coalition, said: "The Government has spent an obscene amount of money on funding Brown's bottomless war chest - money that could have been better spent on public services - not just in this country but also supporting programmes of immunisation in the Third World.

"When they first started this war they said there was £3 billion in the pot, they have spent £6.4billion so far, more than double. At the same time they are making cuts in public services, but the money they are saving is a drop in the ocean compared to that.

"I think this government should hang its head in shame."