A decision on the future of a council-owned care home in Seaford looks set to be delayed.

Members of East Sussex County Council's ruling Cabinet have been advised to defer a decision on Homefield Cottages when they meet on Tuesday.

Council officers want extra time to see if services offered at the home can be transferred to the private sector.

A review was carried out on the home which concluded that respite care services it offers are important to pensioners.

But it also found the expenses of running the small home were comparitively high because of staffing costs.

The home caters for one long-stay and five respite care residents, according to a report by social services director David Archibald.

Upgrading it to meet government standards would cost an estimated £6,400 while the cost of maintaining it over ten years would be £54,750.

Pensioners in Seaford have expressed concern and the county council has also received a letter from a GP saying how much he and his partners value the respite care.

Retired Iris Bassett, 74, of Vicarage Close, Seaford, said her neighbour used the service. She said: "It appears as if everything in Seaford is being reduced for the elderly.

"Yet at the same time our taxes are being increased. The county council has just set one of the highest council tax levels in the country.

"Throughout my working life I paid into a system that I thought would help me when I'm older and unable to work. But the opposite seems to have happened. I pay more in taxes and get less in return. It's awful."