EAST Sussex has taken a bashing from Government bureaucrats who have branded it a pocket of rural poverty.

The popular public view of the county is one of wealth and beautiful countryside. But the Government seems to disagree.

A Cabinet Office report said of the South East: "Despite high densities of population and the relative affluence of many areas, there are pockets of rural deprivation, such as East Sussex, Kent and the Isle of Wight."

According to the survey, about 46 per cent of the South East's population lived in rural areas and the gross domestic product from agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing was £1.4 billion.

Only this week, East Sussex County Council chief executive Cheryl Miller told the Argus that rural poverty and the farming crisis were "causes for concern" in the county.

The Government report was released as Prime Minister Tony Blair visited the West Country as part of a rural fact-finding tour.

Mr Blair said: "There are pockets of rural deprivation and areas where pressure on land, wildlife and scenery are all causes for concern."

This week, the South East England Dev-elopment Agency announced an initiative to support new and growing businesses in the region.

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