A MAP has identified areas of Brighton and Hove which could be at a higher risk from reinfection as lockdown measures are eased.

The online tool from Oxford University found that the areas of Hangleton, Saltdean and Rottingdean had the highest risk of hospitalisation from Covid-19 in the city.

The Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science project has been calculated using data known to correlate to vulnerability to coronavirus.

This includes factors such as age, social deprivation, population density, ethnicity and hospital capacity.

It is hoped the data could be used to " identify areas that face higher disproportionate healthcare burdens due to Covid-19" and assist the Government's test and trace programme.

The figures are broken down into four "risk of hospitalisation" categories, assuming an overall infection rate of 0.1.

These are:

Less than five per 1,000 (white)

Five or six per 1,000 (yellow)

Six to eight per 1,000 (orange)

Eight or more per 1,000 (red)

In Brighton and Hove, several areas are in the highest risk category.

The Argus:

CLICK HERE: To view the map

These included parts of North Portslade, Hove and Portslade seafront, Patcham, the Hove Park area, Hangleton, Whitehawk, Ovingdean, Woodingdean, Rottingdean and Saltdean.

The two areas with the highest number of hospitalisations per 1,000 people were 11.4, in a area shown on the map between Rottingdean and Saltdean, and 11.9, in a western section of Hangleton.

But the risk of hospitalisation in Brighton city centre was largely less than five per 1,000, the graph showed.

The city's seafront, stretching from the Aquarium Roundabout to the eastern end of Hove Lawns, was in the lowest category, as well as the Brunswick and Round Hill areas.

Hanover, as well as the area surrounding Brighton Station, were also shown to be in the lowest risk category.

Professor Melinda Mills, director of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, said: "With additional outbreaks and second waves, thinking not only regionally, but at much smaller scale at the neighbourhood level will be the most effective approach to stifle and contain outbreaks, particularly when a lack of track and trace is in place."

The study concluded: "As countries across the globe exit strict lockdown and enter the ‘new normal’ of co-existence with Covid-19, monitoring new infection hotspots will be crucial.

"Our geospatial estimates illustrate the importance of considering demographic and socioeconomic factors in anticipating local spikes in health care demand related to the Covid-19 pandemic."