When Parking campaign leader Roger McArthur boarded a holiday jet he hoped to leave his parking ticket troubles behind him.

But the peace of Mr McArthur's summer break in Mallorca has been broken - thanks to a story which first appeared in The Argus.

The article about a parking warden who slapped a ticket on a hearse in Hove while undertakers moved a body made headlines in newspapers around the world.

The news reached Mr McArthur as he sunned himself on a Spanish beach.

Flicking through his copy of the Mallorca Daily Bulletin, the holidaymakers' English-language newspaper, he was astonished to read about more parking troubles back home.

Mr McArthur is one of the leaders of Traders Against Parking Persecution (Tapp), which is fighting Brighton and Hove City Council's plans to introduce a £3 waiver system for tradesmen and contractors.

He said: "I started reading this unbelievable story about a hearse getting a ticket and thought it was somewhere else in the world.

"Then I read that it was a Brighton and Hove warden who had given the ticket and it all made sense.

"I came away on holiday to get away from parking problems at home and now I find everyone is talking about them out here as well.

"People have been talking about the article and asking, 'It's not that bad, is it?' Sadly, I have to tell them it is and explain my involvement with Tapp."

The story has become a major talking point on the Spanish island with holidaymakers making jokes about the over-attentive parking attendants of Brighton and Hove.

Our story on Tuesday told how the owners of Bungard and Sons in Sackville Road found one of their hearses had been given a ticket while staff removed a body to the firm's chapel of rest.

The city council has since apologised and cancelled the ticket, blaming an inexperienced traffic attendant.

Jason Moore, editor of the Mallorca Daily Bulletin, said: "I found it difficult to believe a hearse had been given a ticket. I thought it was a quirky story so I decided to put it in. Your wardens must be very ticket-happy."

A spokeswoman for the council said: "We can see some people might think this an amusing story.

"But we completely reject the insinuation we operate one of the most draconian parking regimes in the world."