Residents are fuming after hearing two Citizens' Advice Bureaux could face closure because they are not being used enough.

Lewes Council pays the rent and provides an annual grant of £31,000 towards the running of the Seaford CAB.

It has also been paying rent for the Newhaven CAB but the lease on the office has run out.

Although the service is free, offices are set a target for the minimum number of people using the service.

Council chiefs are now considering reducing opening hours at the branches and have asked the CAB to come up with a long-term solution.

Both offices have staff vacancies, including a position for a manager in the Seaford branch and an assistant manager in the Newhaven branch.

Both were first advertised more than a month ago but the council says there has been little interest.

A spokesman for the council said: "Nothing has been set in stone yet because a decision on the future of the branches will be made at a meeting this week.

"We have to cut back on the hours the offices are open because the branches have not been busy and are losing money.

"We need to look at long-term solutions or else the offices will continue to lose money through lack of trade."

But Sheila Watts, of the Wheelers Community Association, Newhaven, said: "Hearing news like this makes us feel the council does not consider our residents to be important.

"In this day and age, people often need advice about legal matters. They often haven't got anywhere else to turn, so this service should not be scaled down."