Bus drivers in Sussex are threatening to strike in a move which could cause chaos.

Hundreds of Stagecoach South workers are to be balloted on industrial action in a row over pay rates.

Depots affected include Lewes, Worthing, Chichester and Hastings.

The company's buses cover routes across East and West Sussex.

At the moment pay terms and conditions are decided through negotiations at depots.

However, members of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) are calling for a single pay deal to be agreed for the whole company. The union said pay rates vary from area to area and holiday and sick pay schemes are often different.

In a vote held in September to ask whether workers wanted a return to one set of pay talks, 701 said yes and only 76 opted for the status quo.

The process to begin a ballot has now started.

TGWU regional industrial organiser Susan Wentworth said: "This situation has arisen because of drift over the past few years but the union organisation is refreshed, robust, revitalised and determined to change back to one rate for the job and one set of negotiations for all."

A formal application to ballot for industrial action will be made and determined by the union's general secretary.

If it is approved, a postal ballot will be conducted independently over two to three weeks.

If the result favours action, the union has 28 days from the close of the ballot to take it, giving seven days' notice.

Stagecoach South spokesman Steve Stewart said: "We are disappointed the union has decided to take this action. It's not something passengers want to hear.

"Agreements have been made at individual depots because staff in different areas have different priorities and it has been something that has always worked in the past."