PLANS to cut a further £100million from the county council budget by 2018 were put into motion today.

About 1,000 jobs are set to go as part of budget cuts for 2017/18 which are predicted to be so hard hitting that Hampshire County Council bosses have given the go ahead to start planning two years before they come into force.

The future of many frontline services, include those safeguarding some of society's most vulnerable children and adults, will also be under threat in the “colossal” round of cuts.

Money to repair Hampshire's roads, rubbish collections and even the county's trading standards service could also be severely streamlined as those holding the purse strings at Hampshire County Council attempt to balance the books.

Addressing a cabinet meeting today, county leader Cllr Roy Perry said Hampshire had to face up to the fact that Government grants to councils would continue to fall and action was needed to balance the books.

He said: “It’s no good putting decisions off. The sooner one addresses the situation, the easier it is to handle and deal with it.

“That has been our strategy up to now and that will continue to be our strategy.”

Further details of the cuts will be agreed in July.

It comes as the county council's own chief executive Andrew Smith predicts the dire financial situation will not improve for “many, many years to come” and says there is no longer any “easy” way to make savings.

For more on the proposed cuts click here.