PUBLIC services will be hit amid a further £17.3 million in cuts on top of £20 million of savings already found.

East Sussex County Council says that 'a direct impact on frontline services for all areas is unavoidable' as it looks to make reductions of up to £90 million between now and March 2019.

And Councillor David Elkin, deputy leader at the county council and lead member for resources, insists that tough choices will have to be made.

He said: "We know that our strong track record of robust business planning and focus on delivery means we are in relatively good shape, but the reality is we continue to face a very significant funding shortfall and growing demand for our services.

"We have the skills and experience to ensure that the limited budget we have is spent as effectively as possible but it is unavoidable that the impact of these savings will be felt by frontline services."

He insists that the focus must be to protect the most vulnerable and drive economic growth.

The £17.3 million must be saved in the next financial year after £20 million is saved this year.

The council's four priorities are making the best use of resources, driving economic growth, keeping vulnerable people safe and helping people to help themselves.

Cllr Elkin added: "Although we have made some very difficult decisions, we are on track to make the necessary savings for the current financial year,.

"Huge efforts have been made to find efficiency savings within the council, working with partners to change the way services are delivered, and finding opportunities to generate income.

"We will still need to change the way in which services are provided and we will have to stop some and reduce many others, but we continue to look for innovative ways of working with communities and other organisations to identify how we can do things differently."