Town halls could be replaced by call centres, according to a leading Brighton and Hove city councillor.

Conservative Geoffrey Theobald said many public services including water, gas, electricity, much of the health service and education already bypassed councils altogether.

Now he has expressed grave concern for the future of local councils.

Addressing the Conservative conference in Eastbourne, Coun Theobold said plans for regional government would take even more power away from local authorities and make it easy for the Government to give money to its heartlands.

The former leader of East Sussex County Council said: "I can't think of a time when councils were under such a threat.

"If you asked most people in Eastbourne what they thought of their council, they would have their moans but it wouldn't occur to them that their town hall wouldn't be in existence any more."

He said government plans for a massive expansion of house building in the South-East went against the wishes of local councils and the Government also planned to take child protection out of council control and hand it over to a national agency.

Coun Theobold said seven of 19 Bills in the Queen's Speech concerned local government and many would increase government power in an already centralised country.

He told the conference that in the future people might deal with councils mainly through far-off call centres.

He said local government used to be the engine of innovation and the champion of local people and Tories should campaign for a revival of local democracy.

Bert Leggett, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Eastbourne, said: "If we were to lose the town halls I would be terribly disappointed.

"But I can't see a future in my lifetime where town halls disappear in favour of call centres."

However, Brighton and Hove's Labour leader Ken Bodfish said: "The important thing is whether the public has access to their council, not how many town halls there are."