A council has wrecked Christmas for many of its staff by axing 300 jobs in a bid to keep down tax increases.

The posts will go over three years from West Sussex County Council, which has vowed to protect front line services such as teaching and firefighting.

Unions have voiced serious concerns about the cuts and vowed to do everything possible to prevent compulsory redundancies. The announcement comes only days after West Sussex received the second lowest grant increase of any county council in the local government settlement.

Leader Henry Smith said: "We face major pressures as a result of under-funding. Last week's announcement of how much money the Government will provide towards next year's budget confirmed our worst fears.

"This funding crisis means we are constantly having to find new ways to drive down costs. The search for efficiency savings is relentless, with more than £13 million achieved in the last two years. All our budgets have been put under the microscope to find even more savings.

"We have an excellent track record in keeping a tight rein on staff numbers. Cutting out posts means hard decisions but we are determined to minimise the impact of the council tax burden on West Sussex residents.

"The introduction of streamlined working practices should enable us to reduce overheads. New ways of working could have a double benefit by producing savings and improving the way we deliver services.

"Staff have already been advised about the plan to cut 300 posts. The focus will be on taking out posts through natural wastage and re-deploying staff in order to avoid resorting to costly redundancy packages."

West Sussex employs 14,667 people and last year spent £682.1 million.

Chris Earwaker, branch secretary for Unison West Sussex said: "This is obviously an anxious time for our members. We shall be holding urgent discussions with the county council to secure appropriate protection for staff. Our members are also very concerned about the possibility of reduced services to the public."

It is understood the unions do not yet know from which departments the staff will be cut.

In the local government settlement, West Sussex received an increase in grant of 4.3 per cent against the county average of 5.9 per cent.

Coun Smith said: "We received the lowest increase of any county for social services, the third lowest for the fire service and the increase for highways maintenance is only two per cent while the county average is 2.7 per cent.

"It makes for very gloomy reading. Efficiency savings in county council services have been identified across the board and we will continue to monitor closely our spending. I am determined to keep the council tax increase to lower single figures but this will involve some very hard choices."

The Budget and level of council tax will be decided at the county council meeting on February 11.

West Sussex controls about 300 schools, providing education for 100,000 pupils, cares for more than 18,000 people, maintains about 4,000km of roads, deals with more than 400,000 tonnes of household waste and runs 35 libraries. Trading standards carries out 700,000 consumer safety and quality checks annually, while the county's 28 fire stations answer about 15,000 emergency calls a year.

Last year, councillors claimed about £1 million in allowances and expenses.