Many commuters are in for an unhappy New Year surprise when they turn up at Brighton station.

Train operator South Central is hiking up the daily car parking charges from £5 to £10 from January 1.

It is only 12 months since the firm increased the fee from £3.50 to £5.

To suddenly double the cost for commuters wishing to park their car before catching a train seems a risky manoeuvre.

While it could, as intended, deter some city centre shoppers from taking up spaces and encourage more commuters to opt for car park season tickets, many passengers could simply decided to stay in the cars instead of forking out £10 on top of their train fares.

Train passengers already feel aggrieved at what many see as a less-than-satisfactory service from train companies.

Charging people more to use the service before they have even stepped foot on a train will do little to improve operators' public image.