Drivers in Seven Dials, Brighton, have demanded action over their neighbourhood's six-month-old controlled Parking regime.

The People's Parking Protest got under way last night as business and householders vowed to fight for changes to the restrictions.

Campaigners told a public meeting that by changing the way parking places were designated, the number of residents' spaces could be trebled.

About 40 car owners were at the PPP meeting at the Railway Club, The Belmont, and a committee was elected to plan a strategy.

Meeting chairman Steve Percy, who runs System Electronics in Chatham Place, said there were just 665 parking bays for 4,000 residents.

He said many were designated as two-hour or four-hour waiting limits and these should be replaced by 24-hour residents' bays with business parking during the day.

Mr Percy said: "Unless you increase the bays, you will never accommodate all the people who drive in the area.

"There are 227 permit bays in our area. If you sell off 900 permits, somebody is going to be fighting for a bay whatever.

"But most of the two-hour and four-hour bays are filled up in the evening by people not paying anything."

Some of those at the meeting said parking should be solely for residents without accommodating any business use.

Tory councillor Jenny Barnard-Langston said many drivers had been forced to park in the neighbouring Goldsmid ward, which was now also experiencing problems.

Residents told the meeting they faced long waiting lists for a parking permit.

Others queried why permits were issued on a first-come, first-served basis.