An astrologer to the stars was forced to travel miles after she was turned away from a maternity unit.

Argus clairvoyant Claire Petulengro was to be induced at Royal Sussex County Hospital on Friday but was told her appointment had been cancelled because the midwives were too busy.

Her mother Eva Petulengro said she was appalled at the way her daughter had been treated.

Eva said: "I am going spare - I have had four children in that hospital and they are now in their 40s.

"It wasn't very good then and I do not see how it could have got worse but it is appalling.

"It is appalling and other mothers should be made aware to make other arrangements.

"I was told they only had three midwives on duty and I don't know how they can cope.

"I do not think the problem is the hospital the problem is with those in power."

The 32-year-old from Brighton was then driven to Worthing Hospital, which Eva described as wonderful, and was due to give birth yesterday.

Claire gained nationwide fame by making predictions on ITV and has been reading palms since the age of six.

She is a member of one of the most famous clairvoyant families but was unable to predict that one of the most important days of her life would be thrown into disarray.

Her grandmother, Eve Petulengro, was from a famous family of pure-bred Romany gipsies.

She established her name reading for royalty and was the palmist and clairvoyant on Brighton Pier.

Mother Eva was well known in the Sixties and had several celebrity clients to her name, including Michael and Shakira Caine and The Beatles.

Claire also has coterie of famous customers and many actors, pop stars and even politicians consult her in confidence.

The Brighton hospital defended its record saying that although the unit was busy it had only cancelled two appointments that morning and had more than three midwives on duty.

A spokeswoman said: "They were not turning people away and just two low risk inducements were rescheduled.

"We just had a lot of births and the appointments had to rearranged because they needed the space for women who went into labour."

What will Claire call her baby? Post your predictions below.