LANCASHIRE County Council has warned it will have to cut services by £300 million by March 2018.

It has started work on a new four-year budget strategy to meet government demands to cut spending, anticipated reductions in government grant and rising costs.

The sum will represent a one-third spending cut by the authority - which provides key services in Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale, Ribble Valley and Chorley boroughs - by 2018.

It is £78 million more than the £222 million spending reductions already earmarked in plans from 2014 to 2017.

Yesterday’s announcement by new Labour county leader Jenny Mein follows Blackburn with Darwen finance boss Andy Kay telling the borough’s executive board on Thursday he was looking for another £15 million in spending cuts in 2015/2016 on top a of budget reductions of £30 million already announced for 2013/2014.

Following the first routine meeting of the county's new Labour cabinet, Coun Mein revealed the £300m savings target from 2014 to 2018, 38 per cent of the current budget.

Coun Mein said: "The county council has already had to save £222m over the current three-year budget but there is no doubt this next period will be even more challenging.

"As a new administration we have a considerable amount of work to do over the coming months to understand the options available and develop a strategy for finding these savings.

"This won't be a case of simply delivering the same services on a slightly smaller scale. We will have to do something more radical with an emphasis on those in most need."

Deputy leader David Borrow, holds the finance portfolio in the new Cabinet, said: "Our objective will be to produce a four-year strategy ! that gives the public and employees alike some certainty and clarity about how we will overcome this challenge.”

Senior managers will work with Cabinet members to develop budget proposals for approval in February 2014.

Cutbacks of £89million this coming year included social care fee reductions, reducing non-residential social care services, remodelling the learning disability and children and young people’s care services and trimming the special education needs transport bill.