Traders in Worthing fear a massive hike in car parking charges when a private firm takes over.

NCP has emerged as the favourite to operate more than a dozen car parks now run by Worthing Borough Council.

It has pledged to invest up to £4 million on improving the car parks, including several town centre multi-stories which are in a poor state of repair.

But the council has told shopkeepers it cannot stop the firm raising charges when the deal is signed.

NCP has a surface car park in Union Place where motorists pay £1.20 for an hour, £2.20 for two hours, £3.10 for three hours, £3.70 for four hours and £5.20 for six hours.

At the council-run High Street multi-storey nearby, the equivalent charges are 70p, £1.40, £2, £2.90, £4.20 and £5.20.

Critics fear if NCP raises its charges in line with Union Place, shoppers may boycott Worthing and spend their money in rival towns.

Councillor Peter Green, the council's executive member for environmental services, said the authority had asked its lawyers whether it could put a ceiling on future NCP prices.

The answer was no, allowing NCP, which will have a monopoly on off-street car parks, to set their own charges.

Coun Green said: "When you appoint somebody as a contractor you can consult and have an input but you are not allowed to actually have a veto.

"If you are going to get somebody in to refurbish and update the car parks with a ten-year contract, you have got to give them flexibility.

"I am sure NCP is aware of what the market will stand. Obviously they have to recoup the capital they are going to spend on our behalf.

"We cannot dictate to them how they run their business. I think it is inevitable prices will go up more than what we would normally have put them up.

"If the car parks are refurbished and painted and made safer with CCTV, people might well accept that."

He said people came to Worthing because it was a decent place to shop and car park prices would not put them off.

But Chris Spratt, chairman of the Worthing Town Centre Initiative, which represents traders, said: "To be honest I am very surprised if the council has handed over management without any control on prices.

"I was always under the impression in the past that raising car parking charges has been a hotly debated subject.

"I think it would be most detrimental if car parking charges were to increase to unrealistic levels because this would have a direct effect on the attraction of the retail centre.

"But on the positive side, I can only assume the management would be better because we have received so many complaints over the years about the car parks."

Haydn Smith, the council's assistant director of health and housing, said: "There will be some freedom for the contractor to pitch prices according to the location.

"I think we can expect that prices will go up but it is too early to have details.

"Before prices go up we would expect the company to discuss the situation with us.

"NCP intend to spend between £3 million and £4 million on modernising the car parks, putting in new lighting, redecoration, repairs, converting to a modern payment system and installing CCTV.

"There will be a vastly improved level of services provided for parking motorists.

"I don't expect the prices to go up to Union Place levels. Some may but I certainly don't expect a widespread major hike in prices from day one."