Council housing rents in some towns and villages could soar by as much as £20 a week during the next ten years, according to a senior councillor.

The rent hike is expected to affect council-owned houses throughout Wealden.

It prompted an angry warning from a tenants' group that only the well-off would be able to afford to live in rural areas.

The rise will be imposed by the Government under a national review of council rents. It has insisted that the rises would be far less.

The move means council houses will have their rents fixed by the Government according to a national formula based on local house prices.

Councillor Nigel Coltman, Wealden executive member with special responsibility for finance and assets, said he expected most rents to increase, particularly in the north of the district where house prices were higher.

He said: "We haven't done a house-to-house calculation yet. There will be ups and downs but most houses across the district will go up.

"It is not possible to say by exactly how much yet but somewhere in the region of £20."

Chairman of the Wealden Tenants Group Kevin Givan said: "This is another move imposed by the Government that will hurt pensioners and people on low incomes the most.

"It is difficult enough for the less well-off to be able to afford to live in rural areas.

"With these rent increases it will soon be only the well-off that can live in the country.

"Raising the rents to the proposed levels will also increase rent benefits and encourage tenants to exercise their right to buy.

"I am very disappointed that decisions like these are made by the Government with no regard for what local authorities may have to say."

The Government has said increases will be phased in during the next ten years and that no rents should increase by more than £2 a week.

But according to Wealden District Council officers, 30 per cent of tenants living in Wealden will be paying £15 more on their rent per week in ten years' time.

Councillor Margaret Kirkpatrick, lead member for housing, said: "I think the idea is plain daft, especially as the Government is trying to find affordable accommodation for key workers while at the same time pushing rents up to prices people cannot afford.

"I don't think the Government realises how much this will hurt local people, particularly pensioners and families on low incomes.

"I am also furious that our tenants will not see the benefits of any of this extra money that we will be forced to collect on the Government's behalf as it will be distributed to other councils in the form of a subsidy."