Controversial plans to impose a flood tax on homes in low-lying areas are to be abandoned, it emerged today.

We told in February of residents' outrage at the proposal for them to pay a special precept to pay for flood defences.

It provoked outrage among householders in areas like Uckfield and Lewes, which were badly affected by the floods of autumn 2000.

Tory East Sussex County Council leader Peter Jones insisted flooding was a national problem, which should be dealt with nationally.

The idea of a flood levy was mooted by a Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs working group earlier this year.

The proposal would have replaced the existing system of householders across the region sharing the burden in a small precept charged on council tax bills.

Business owners and residents who have barely recovered from the October 2000 floods condemned the proposal as "lunacy".

They said today the idea should never have been put forward in the first place.