Teachers in Brighton and Hove are facing job cuts after a report revealed schools face a budget shortfall of more than £6 million.

City schools could be forced to reduce staff numbers and cut back their hours to plug the gap in funding.

Other cuts could include cutting back on school maintenance and other curriculum resources such as books, equipment, and scientific and artistic materials.

The shortfall is more than double the figures first predicted earlier this year, when many headteachers and governors were angered by a tough Government settlement which left Brighton and Hove about £3 million down.

A report by the city's education director, David Hawker, has now revealed the shortfall is far worse than expected.

The trouble arose from a new Government funding formula for councils which was not enough to meet rising costs, including an increase in the salaries of teachers and National Insurance payments.

The Government provides a grant each year to help cover the running expenses of schools.

The main spending is on staff but there cash is also spent on maintaining school buildings and teaching resources.

The total education budget is £102 million.

Schools, responding to questions from the council, said they would have to consider cuts to make up the shortfall.

Some of the cuts were one-off and could not be repeated next year.

Several schools have indicated they will be applying to the council for a licensed deficit.

The council must match any such permitted deficit with reserves and further work will need to be done on these requests.

Mr Hawker said: "Initial calculations of the likely funding gap have since proved to be an underestimate.

"The information reported by schools to date shows that the cuts required this year amount to £3.2 million.

"To this should be added the use of balances, reported at £2.2 million, the use of capital and the requests for licensed deficits, which together amount to £900,000.

"The gap may be greater than the reported total of £6.3 million."

Green councillor Georgia Wrighton, a member of the education scrutiny committee, said the huge shortfall was a direct result of the Government's new funding formula.

She said: "Plugging the financial gap by cutting back on teachers and their hours of work is outrageous. The council must take a stronger lead and convince ministers they've got it wrong."

Unison, Britain's biggest union, has said it will ballot for industrial action if any members are forced to quit.