Rush hour traffic was brought to a standstill this morning as a convoy of angry traders staged their fifth protest against a city's Parking policy.

This time, the protest opposing Brighton and Hove City Council's parking policies was taken on to public transport as builders with ladders, pick axes, shovels, bags of cement and wheelbarrows tried to board a bus to get to work.

But the driver of the No 1 service to Whitehawk refused to allow them on to his already overcrowded vehicle outside Hove Town Hall.

Traders against Parking Persecution (Tapp) added buses to their agenda as they had been told by the council to make greater use of the city's network to get to work.

As builder Roger McArthur tried to negotiate his extended ladders onto the lower deck, he said: "I think this proves our point, it is impossible for us to catch the bus to work as some councillors and council officials have suggested.

"For us to do that, buses would need trailers and I can't see that happening."

From 8am today, 40 vans, most of them white, drove slowly along the seafront from the Palace Pier past council offices at King's House, Grand Avenue, Hove, and on to Hove Town Hall.

Fewer took part than some of the previous protests but they still made their presence felt along a foggy seafront.

Police were forced to temporarily close the Palace Pier roundabout, causing tailbacks along Marine Drive at the height of the rush hour.

The slow-moving convoy with horns blaring angered some motorists with their deliberately slow driving. Others tooted enthusiastically in support.

Many of the vans flew the Union flag or the cross of St George.

They also had posters on their vehicles saying "Council Policy will not Work, We Do" and "Let Traders Work. No to Unfair Delays and Charges".

The traders are angry about the introduction of £3 parking waivers, which allow them to work and park in areas where there are yellow lines.

Before National Car Parks and its army of wardens took over responsibility for enforcing the parking regulations in the city, traders were able to put notices in their windows saying where they were working to avoid parking fines.

They say it takes time to collect the waivers for each day and they want a voucher system similar to the parking voucher scheme for motorists.

They are also demanding changes to the Traders' Parking Permit, which can be purchased to enable them to park in residents' parking bays and other controlled areas.

These are not valid after 4pm and the traders says it is ridiculous for them to be forced to finish jobs by this time in order to avoid £30 and £60 parking tickets.

The traders, who have already been granted some concessions by the council such as the earlier opening of one office where waivers can be purchased, say they will continue their protests up until the council elections on May 1.

Disc jockey Mick Casey, a member of TAPP and one of the participants in today's white van protest, said: "There should be a scratch card system for the parking waivers. Sometimes I get a call to do a last-minute show and there is not time for me to get a waiver. If I had a book of them, for which I am willing to pay, there would be no problem."