I've just been given a couple of young sweet pepper plants by a friend and while they look ok, they have brown/black patches where the branches meet the stem.

Having read up a little, I think it could be 'damping off'. Does this sound right and is there any cure? Also is there any danger of it spreading it to my (so far) healthy tomatoes? This is my first attempt at growing anything and I don't think I could cope if I lost my 'babies'!!

Any advice would really be appreciated!