A sacked council boss has quit public life and bought her own fish and chip shop.

Sari Conway, 50, has taken control of The Fish Shop in Rye High Street after buying it for about £500,000.

The former chief executive of Eastbourne Borough Council oversees 14 staff at the 60-seater licensed restaurant.

Mrs Conway has been working infrequently at the post office her husband runs in Seaford after being sacked without a pay-off from her £72,000-a-year post in February for gross misconduct.

A year-long independent Government inquiry concluded with a damning report saying she had destroyed working relationships with her abrasive style.

Mrs Conway, who still has a house in Wish Hill, Eastbourne, has kept a low profile since the sacking, although it is believed she was turned down for a job at the Home Office.

Now she says she is happier than she has been for a long time since returning to the fish trade and is a member of the National Federation of Fish Friers.

She said: "I have been in the public sector for about 30 years with many high-profile jobs from classroom assistant to director of education to chief executive at Eastbourne.

"Every job I've had has involved people because that's what I'm about.

"This job allows me to bring together all the skills and experience I've learnt over all these years but this time for myself and not for a council.

"It's a beautiful part of the world and it looks as if I won't be retiring for a few years yet."

The chief executive position has remained vacant since Mrs Conway's sacking, with corporate resources manager Martin Ray taking on the duties since her dismissal.

Interviews for the position are likely to take place at the end of the month, meaning a new chief executive could be in place within a couple of months.