Critics are demanding an urgent review of a council parking blitz which has cost motorists more than £2 million in six months.

They claim the system has flaws after it was revealed the number of people winning appeals against fines has shot up, with almost four per cent of penalties now overturned.

With a ticket being issued every four minutes, Brighton and Hove City Council is under pressure to launch a review of the scheme, which has been dogged by accusations of over-zealous actions by the city's wardens.

Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Elgood said he was astounded by the amount raised in fines.

The council began its offensive in July after taking responsibility for parking from the police.

In the period to December 31, a total of 68,552 tickets were issued and 1,155 vehicles towed away to the pound.

It means drivers are receiving more than one ticket every four minutes since the regulations came into force.

Assuming everyone paid their £30 fine promptly, avoiding a further £30 penalty, council coffers have been swollen by just over £2 million.

The council hailed the blitz a success, saying it had gone a long way towards freeing the streets of congestion.

At this rate, it predicts it will take two years to pay off the £2.3 million cost of launching the scheme.

A spokeswoman said the crackdown had so far generated income of £1.3 million, when running costs were taken into account.

Much of that was going towards paying off the start-up costs.

So far, 2,465 people have had their fines overturned on appeal, almost 2,000 of those in the last three months.

Eight further cases have gone to adjudication and remain under review.

Coun Elgood said the figures were a clear indicator of serious flaws in the system and called for urgent action.

He said: "These figures are dynamite stuff. I'm astounded at the total amount raised in fines. It's a staggering figure, way out of proportion either to what was expected or to what should be made under a fair system.

"We were always told the level of fines would come down after the initial start-up period but that is not the case.

"As to the number of appeals, it means there has to be a huge question mark over how NCP is putting out the tickets and enforcing the scheme."

A council spokeswoman said money raised from parking fines was not profit but income.

She said: "The scheme costs about £3 million a year to run but, if we go into surplus somewhere down the line, the money is to be spent on transport-related costs within the city."