The event was for potential parents to meet social workers

Brighton & Hove City Council Adoption Team hosted the event at Brighton University on Saturday for those considering adopting a child.

The council currently has 28 children awaiting adoption, with only eight potential adopters on the agency books.

Spokeswoman Karen Devine said: "We are appealing to all those interested to come forward."

'Only a word'

She said: "Many people think they are too overweight, they are single, they are too old, or they are in a same sex relationship.

"They think they are not eligible to adopt and that's not right."

Prospective adopter Brian Durrant's father was adopted.

He said he was not frightened about adoption: "I have been brought up with it, with my father.

"We are quite happy about it. It's only a word. If you bring up a child, you are Mum and Dad."

Too many children and young people are waiting too long for a loving family Felicity Collier

There is a particular shortage of adoptive parents for older children and siblings, and those from minority ethnic groups.

It can take an average of eight months to place a child once an adopter is chosen.

There are currently more than 4,000 children in the UK waiting to be adopted into permanent homes.

National Adoption Week is an annual campaign by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) to seek and recruit people to adopt a child.

Chief executive Felicity Collier said: "In the UK too many children and young people are waiting too long for a loving family.

"Some of these children have complex backgrounds and it is even more of an imperative that loving and stable home environments can be found for them."