Cafe owner Simon Lawrence still can't get permission to park outside his business despite two years of trying.

Every month the proprietor of the Take A Break cafe rings to check if a permit is available to allow him to park outside his premises in Brighton Road, Worthing.

Yet each time he is told there is not despite witnessing the empty spaces outside the cafe every day.

Mr Lawrence, 27, has three Parking tickets outstanding but is refusing to pay while he appeals for a rethink.

He is pleading with the Parking Shop - which manages the permit scheme on behalf of West Sussex County Council -

to look at his problem again.

Mr Lawrence said: "I started applying for a permit soon after taking over the cafe in 1999 and here I am still trying - it's crazy.

"On every occasion I'm told they have limited numbers for the area and there are no more permits available.

"But this baffles me because every day without fail there is enough space for several more vehicles to park.

"What makes it even harder to take is the garage next door has been allocated multiple permits which they use for some of their stock. I don't have a problem with that. I just want fairness for all traders.

"It is essential my vehicle is instantly accessible in order for me to run a successful business, whether it's to go to the cash and carry to collect stock or to make a delivery.

"My only other option is to park on my forecourt but this involves crossing the footpath or driving through a gap in the pedestrian crossing barriers and would be an inconvenience for everyone else.

"I've just taken on a new tenyear lease and bought next door which I plan to knock through so I'm pumping a lot of money into the area.

"I'm happy to pay £50 for a permit as I already pay almost £2,000 in business rates and will soon be paying more than £3,000. I just want help."

The Parking Shop has referred the matter to the county council, which said the parking bays provided twohour free parking for local shop customers. If these were made available to permit holders, businesses would suffer from loss of short-stay spaces for customers.

A spokeswoman said: "Mr Lawrence can park there for two hours and also load and unload in the bays for a further 20 minutes.

"We cannot comment on individual cases but where garages have been issued multipermits, they have not been for staff but for customers' cars.

"There are no permits left in Brighton Road for this reason, though Mr Lawrence has been offered a non-resident permit elsewhere."