Rogue drivers who stray into bus lanes could soon be caught on camera.

The Department of Transport is bringing forward new legislation next month to allow the crackdown.

Brighton and Hove city councillors will be pressed to be among the first to take action at a meeting on Thursday.

If councillors agree, a consultant will be hired to work out the best way to introduce the scheme.

Initially, the council will concentrate on clearing cars out of the bus priority areas in Western Road, North Street and the bottom of Dyke Road.

These are the areas with the worst congestion and the greatest number of cars breaking traffic regulations.

When police occasionally enforce the regulations, they catch hundreds of drivers every day illegally entering the bus priority areas during main shopping hours.

Afterwards, if enforcement by cameras is effective, they will operate in all other bus lanes in the city.

Environment director Jenny Rowlands said bus services in Brighton and Hove were doing well because of a strong partnership between the main bus company and the council.

But she said congestion in Western Road and North Street was restricting further growth.

She said existing city centre cameras could be used to enforce the bus lanes and identify offenders.

Money from fines will be used to help pay for the CCTV camera network.

Ms Rowlands said: "Improved enforcement will clearly enable more buses to gain access to the city's main shopping area."

She said removing illegal cars would improve conditions for pedestrians and get rid of much pollution.

In London, drivers are fined £80 for entering a bus lane, twice the £40 penalty imposed by Brighton and Hove City Council for a parking offence.

Fines for driving in bus lanes would be halved for those who paid within 14 days but could be doubled for anyone failing to pay within 28 days.

Wide-angle cameras would allow council chiefs to judge whether a driver had no choice but to use a bus lane, perhaps to avoid a broken-down car.

The fine would typically fall on the owner of the vehicle rather than the driver.