The deflection and deceleration of neutral hydrogen molecules in the presence of an inhomogeneous electric field is demonstrated. The molecules are laser-excited in a molecular beam to selected Rydberg-Stark states in the field of an electric dipole for a fixed period, and their trajectories are monitored using ion imaging and time-of-flight measurement. The Rydberg states (n approximate to 17) show remarkably long lifetimes (> 100 mus) and these results point to a novel method for trapping and cooling non-polar, non-magnetic molecules. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.