East Sussex County Council is still in a big mess over the future of waste disposal in the county, even though time is fast running out.

A full meeting of the council rejected the crazy idea proposed by its cabinet that contractors rather than councillors should select the sites.

Six sites have been named for dealing with waste, including three in neighbouring Brighton and Hove. But the really difficult decisions remain about what to do with much of the rubbish which cannot be recycled.

People do not want incinerators or landfill sites next to their homes. But it's not possible to recycle all rubbish and sites have to be found.

Plenty of suggestions have been made for sites including Beddingham and Newhaven. The council simply cannot afford to delay any longer.

Unless East Sussex acts quickly, it is likely to lose a huge Government grant and within a few years, waste will have to be taken out of the county at enormous expense and great cost to the environment.

East Sussex councillors cannot please all the people all the time. They are there to take decisions. Some of them are going to be tough and unpopular.

But on this issue they don't seem to understand the harsh realities. They appear to be paralysed by indecision and it is not doing the county any good.

Shining example A six-year-old Seaford schoolboy named Gavin has given away his birthday presents to the Women's Refuge in Brighton.

After hearing about the plight of families who had lost everything, he decided other children needed the gifts more than he did.

The presents have not been opened and can be given to children at the refuge as gifts for their own birthdays.

Gavin's generosity is a shining example to other children who often receive many more presents than they really need.

Thumbs up flight Hitchhikers Amy Oliver and Daniel Cruickshank had a surprise when they were offered a lift from Brighton on their way to Devon.

The motorist who picked them up, Phil Cornford, happened to be a pilot who arranged for a friend to fly them west from Shoreham Airport within an hour.

After waiting 90 minutes without a single lift, their plans for reaching Devon seemed to have gone west.

Now they are the real high-flyers among hitchhikers.