The problem of finding loose change for the parking meter will be a thing of the past from next month.

Drivers will soon have the option of paying for parking by phone from 17 seafront locations.

Motorists will have to pay 15p extra to make the cashless payment to cover service costs, Brighton and Hove City Council said.

The PayByPhone scheme will go live from September 16 after a review found 45% of people would “probably” use the new method.

Councillor Ian Davey, lead member for transport in Brighton and Hove, said: “The new scheme is designed to make it easier for people.

“If you choose to pay by phone you won’t need to find exact change to put in the machine, but if you do wish to pay the traditional way, then that option will still be there.”

PayByPhone will be rolled out to other central areas of Brighton and Hove over the autumn and the rest of the city by spring next year.

Similar schemes in Manchester and Bury have run into problems with some users hit with huge fines and threats of court action after their payments were not processed.

There are already around 50 machines which accept debit or credit cards without a phone, mainly in central Brighton and Madeira Drive.
 

Smartphone owners will be able to use a special app while a local-rate number can be called from all other phones.

Drivers can extend their parking time remotely, while an optional reminder for when the parking ses- sion expires is available for an additional 15p.

In Lambeth, where the scheme was established, motorists are not charged any extra pennies.

Steve Percy, of the People’s Parking Protest, said the 15p charge was a “stealth tax”.

He said: “If you go to a machine and buy a ticket, you pay for the cost of your ticket. If you buy it through this service, you pay 15p more.

“What’s the point? To me it seems nothing more than a sneaky way of bumping up the cost of parking.”