Up to £90 million of cuts may have to be made as council bosses announce they are facing “tough decisions” over the need to slash budgets.

In a report on the authority’s finances cabinet members at East Sussex County Council were told they may need to make savings of between £90million and £70million in the three years from 2016.

Since 2010 the council has already been trying to make £89 million worth of savings before March 2016.

A yesterday's cabinet meeting, members were warned further reductions in central Government funding could leave them needing to find that amount again to balance the books between 2016 and 2019.

A council spokesman said as this is the most preliminary stage of the cuts it has not yet been set out where the savings will come from.

Councillor David Elkin, deputy leader and lead member for resources, said: “Due to next year’s general election, there are many unknowns for local authorities. As we start planning future budgets, we need to prepare for the worst case scenario.

“As with every local authority, we will have to make some tough decisions to achieve any additional savings over the next few years “There is every possibility that residents will see major changes to the way the county council provides service as a result.”

As it prepares to consider further savings, the cabinet renewed its commitment to four priorities - driving economic growth, keeping vulnerable people safe. helping people help themselves and making best use of the council’s resources.

Coun Elkin said: “As with all the changes we have made so far, we will continue to work with residents and organisations to ensure that no one is left without access to a service that they rely upon, although it would be naïve to assume that there will be no change to services.

“Our approach is, and will continue to be, to look at what services we need to deliver and work with residents and partners to deliver these to the highest standard with the money available.”

He added: “This is only the start of planning process and a lot can change in the months before the budget is finalised and approved, but we need to identify potential savings for the coming years to ensure we are in the best position to deal with any eventuality.”