Police recovered one stolen car and discovered 29 other abandoned vehicles during a blitz on illegal parking.

A further 280 untaxed vehicles were found as officers trawled the streets in West Hove looking for illegally parked cars.

Emergency services feared that drivers breaching parking laws could put lives at risk, blocking ambulances or fire engines on narrow or congested roads.

However, officers found the majority of motorists were properly parked and only issued 14 fixed penalty tickets in Westbourne Villas, Westbourne Gardens and Aymer Road.

The blitz, named Operation Crackdown, was launched last week in a bid to tackle parking problems in West Hove.

Drivers who left their cars double parked or used unauthorised echelon or angled parking in streets in Westbourne and Wish were warned they could be prosecuted.

Police and Brighton and Hove City Council followed up the warnings with a blitz on the worst affected roads on Tuesday and Wednesday.

One abandoned vehicle was removed by city council parking officers after a notice to remove it within 24 hours was ignored.

The joint initiative was launched by the police, fire brigade and the council.

Sergeant David Bettiss, based at Hove police station, said: "I am very pleased that we had to issue so few tickets.

"Drivers in the area, by their responsible attitude, have generally made the roads much safer for all to use.

"Several residents approached us, especially in Aymer Road,and told us that things had much improved."

He said that the operation had helped reinforce the message that owners who do not tax their cars would be prosecuted.

It had also given police a high profile presence in the area which would help to deter a small increase in the number of burglaries in the area recently.

Mr Bettiss said: "A number of known criminals were stopped and spoken to in the area during the operation."