People in the Wealden district face an inflation-busting council tax hike of almost nine per cent.

People living in Band D properties will see their council tax bills swell to £963.79, an overall increase of 8.8 per cent.

Wealden District Council yesterday agreed to increase its element of the bill by 5.88 per cent.

It will be added to East Sussex County Council's average bill of £741.38, £59.13 for the Sussex Police Authority and differing amounts for parish and town councils.

Part of the cash will help pay for flood prevention in the district, which was badly hit during the autumn.

The council said it was also important to maintain competitive salaries for its employees.

Councillor Raymond Parsons, chairman of the resources committee, said: "It is an unfortunate fact of current local authority life that we are not free to either spend money or fix council tax without central Government intervention.

"While most people believe that capping has disappeared, it has been replaced by a punitive scheme imposing financial penalties on councils and taxpayers if an arbitrary limit is exceeded.

"I am very glad to say that we have succeeded in avoiding any penalty this year by exercising a very prudent approach to both budget and tax levels."

But Coun John Blake, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: "This budget is not good news for the people of Wealden.

"Over the four years from 1997-98, Wealden's income from council tax will have risen by 38 per cent from just under £5 million to approaching £7 million."