THOUSANDS of Hampshire's most vulnerable residents are facing huge cutbacks in vital care, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Crucial services such as shopping for elderly and disabled people are to be axed to plug an £11.3m black hole in Hampshire's social services budget. Experts have predicted the move will mean the needy will become more isolated and require more help in the future.

The controversial decision by the county's ruling Conservatives provoked angry scenes at yesterday's Cabinet meeting, which was suspended for ten minutes after one Liberal Democrat councillor walked out.

The cuts include stricter means testing and only offering social services care packages such as washing, feeding and dressing to people who have been assessed as needing "critical" care .

The cuts will only affect new clients of the adult social care department.

Hampshire Age Concern director Chris Perry told the Daily Echo that the council was storing up problems for the future.

He said: "I can understand the council's position. They are facing a £11.3m overspend. They do get less than half the grant for social care that authorities in the north- east get. However, what will inevitably happen is that those people who face cutbacks will become more socially isolated and will require greater care packages in future."

County council leader Councillor Ken Thornber, pictured above left, told his Conservative Cabinet colleagues that about 1,020 extra clients had come on to the council's social services roll last year but the additional numbers were not picked up early enough due to a "failure of management".

Earlier members were told by council chief executive Peter Robertson that the huge overspend had come about due to "inaccurate" information being compiled by the council about how many people in the county needed care packages. He told members the true extent of the financial black hole had not been apparent to social services bosses until last Christmas.

County treasurer John Pittam added: "The scale of the problem is immense and exceptional. We have never had an issue like this before in the council.

"It is not catastrophic but it is very serious."

Cllr Thornber had to suspend the Cabinet meeting for ten minutes following an angry exchange between himself and the Liberal Democrat spokesman for social services Alan Dowden.

Cllr Dowden, pictured above right, dramatically walked out of the meeting after a row broke out when he was refused permission by the Tory leader to speak about what had led up to the cutbacks. Liberal Democrat opposition leader Councillor Adrian Collett said that the level of overspend by the council had been "quite unprecedented." He said: "We have known this was coming for some time. None of these facts are new. The issue we are facing today is like a volcano waiting to erupt."