Ministers have been told to stop thinking of East Sussex as a rich county and end their "punishment" of council taxpayers.

A Westminster debate heard the average council tax bill in the county had rocketed by 20 per cent this year.

The hike is being blamed on the fact East Sussex received the second lowest Government grant in England.

Lewes MP Norman Baker accused the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of shifting funds from the South to the Labour heartlands in the North.

He claimed East Sussex was being punished because the Government wrongly believed it was one of the wealthiest areas in the country.

The Liberal Democrat MP said: "Government ministers always think East Sussex is a rich county, which has leafy suburbs.

"It is a poor county - one of the poorest in the country with large areas of deprivation."

Mr Baker said the massive increases, including 20 per cent hikes in Lewes and Wealden, had left people struggling to make ends meet.

He claimed they were "property rich" because of the value of their homes but they had little disposable income.

He said: "There are people in my constituency who are seriously suffering as a result of these council tax rises."

Bexhill and Battle Tory MP Gregory Barker said he had been "overwhelmed" by letters from worried householders, including many pensioners.

He said the bill increase had wiped out their pension increase in "one blow".

But local government minister Chris Leslie said it was a "myth" the Government had switched funds from the South to the North.

He insisted the rise paid to East Sussex had been above inflation. Council tax levels were down to the councils who had to answer to voters themselves.