Frontline services face the axe and dozens staff could lose their jobs as Croydon Council prepares to slash its spending by £36m over two years.

Seventy-eight council workers face the chop while funding for youth counselling, help for domestic abuse victims and care support are set to be cut in the proposed budget approved by Croydon Council's cabinet on Monday.

The council's contact centre is set to bear the brunt of the job losses with 25 staff at risk of redundancy.

In the draft budget proposals published this week, the council administration also outlined plans to scrap nearly half of school crossing patrols and cut spending on transport for special needs pupils by over £1.3m.

A £1.25m reduction in funding for care packages, mainly for residents with disabilities, is also proposed. The council said the savings would come from a programme designed to "maximise people's independence".

Opposition councillors branded the authority "a council in crisis" and warned vital services for vulnerable residents were under threat as declining funding from central government takes its toll on the borough.

Nearly a third of the savings will come from the department of adult social care, health and housing, which will have to reduce its spending by £11.1m, while services for children and families must save £11m.

Nineteen jobs in the council's children, families and learning department face the axe.

Tim Pollard, the council's deputy chair, admitted it was "unavoidable" that some frontline services would shut down entirely.

The cabinet member for children, families and learning said: "We have got an extremely good record of delivering efficiencies and delivered £70m over four years, but we are now at the point where we are going to have to close down some services."

He said cuts would be focussed on management where possible and insisted a reduced budget did not have to mean poorer service.

But Jane Avis, shadow cabinet member for health and social care, said: "After three years of draconian cuts, the adult social care budget has fallen to 2006 levels, whilst the pressures and demands in this area have increased significantly and are predicted to rise even faster in the coming years."

Councillor Tony Newman, Labour group leader, argued the council should have fought for a better deal from central government.

"There is a crisis facing this council," he said. "Has this cabinet been doing anything to get a better settlement for Croydon or has it just sat back and accepted it?"

But Councillor Steve O’Connell, cabinet member for finance and performance management, said: "Given the current state of the economy, tough decisions inevitably need to be made, but we are prioritising what is important to residents and will continue to provide high-quality public services."

The cuts would mean could council tax rises could be kept to a minimum, he said.

The budget was approved by the cabinet on Monday night and will now go to public consultation before being finalised in February.