Councils in East Sussex which imposed some of the country's biggest council tax hikes could be capped by the Government.

Local government minister Nick Raynsford is to examine the highest tax rates to see if they were justified.

He said local authorities setting significant increases would have to explain themselves to the taxpayer and the Government.

Councils in East Sussex which set high rises include Lib Dem-run Eastbourne - where bills shot up 38 per cent - and Labour-held Hastings, which imposed a rise of 20.3 per cent.

Government figures revealed the average council tax rise was 12.9 per cent, more than four times the rate of inflation.

However, average Band D residents will be billed more than £1,209 in Eastbourne and £1,216 in Hastings.

The Conservatives have denounced the increases, particularly in Eastbourne and Hastings where there are many families on low incomes.

Mr Raynsford said: "We are still looking in detail at all the figures but we will not accept increases of this scale year after year.

"Councils are benefiting from an average increase in Government funding this year of 5.9 per cent.

"This is a generous increase with every council getting more than inflation for the first time ever. No council is getting less money. Overall, funding to councils is going up by £3.8 billion.

"This is more than enough to cover extra education spending, extra police spending and the extra cost of increases in national insurance without excessive tax rises.

"Against this background of sustained increases in funding from Government, it is very difficult to see any good justification for excessive council tax increases."

Councillors in East Sussex blame the Government for forcing big increases on residents, saying ministers allocated harsh grant settlements to councils in East Sussex.

East Sussex County Council leader Peter Jones said the Tory-run authority needed an extra £40 million to maintain services.

However, the Government only provided an extra £10 million, leaving a £30 million shortfall, while other authorities further north had more generous handouts.

In a letter to all residents in East Sussex, Mr Jones says the only way to bridge the huge gap was to pass on high council tax increases.

Eastbourne has been hit further because it has had to appoint a new refuse contractor.

Eastbourne Borough Council's deputy leader, David Tutt, urged residents to lobby Government to prevent another huge hike next year.