Front line services will not be cut and council staff will go through natural wastage before redundancies.

That's the message from Ashford council leader Paul Bartlett, right, as the borough braces itself for swinging spending cuts.

But the Conservative leader also said he believed that fast action was needed to tackle Britain's giant budget deficit.

He said "It is inevitable that there will be reductions in staff but we would like to manage the downsizing through natural wastage.

"But frontline services will not be cut."

Cllr Bartlett said staff reductions would take place over the next 18 months but it was still impossible to say how many would have to go.

He stressed that natural wastage, not replacing people when they leave, would take place in the hope of avoiding making people redundant.

The Ashford Borough Council website this week had no posts whatsoever advertised in its job vacancies section.

Cllr Bartlett also said that front line services, such as housing, benefit administration and planning, would be spared.

On Monday Chancellor George Osborne annonced the first £6.2bin in brutal public spending cuts to reduce the country £156bn deficit.

He said; "I am supportive of the coalition government's swift action to address the budget deficit. It is needed for the long term health of the economy."

Cllr Bartlett said that on Tuesday morning he had met council chief executive John Bunnett and Ashford's Future boss Judith Armitt to discuss the impending cuts.

He said: "We know that Ashford is one of the four growth areas, with Ebbsfleet, Milton Keynes and Cambridge, that are likely to be impacted."

Ashford council says as sooon as it receives full details of cutback proposals it would make recommendations to members.

The authority stressed it was known for months there would be cutbacks regardless of who won the General Election

The public have been consulted on spending priorities and following further consultation budgets for 2011/12 will be prepared in October and voted on in February.