Disabled people are furious about parking facilities at the Churchill Square shopping centre in Brighton.

Campaigners want the council to change parking bays at the side of the shopping centre which they say are tricky to manoeuvre because the new disabled bays are on a slope.

They have questioned the sense of the move and said there should have been greater consultation with disabled people before the bays were put in.

Wheelchair-bound Ann Agnew, who suffers from the latter effects of polio, said: "I am dismayed at the foolishness of the council's action regarding the new disabled parking arrangements which go down the slope at the side of the shopping centre.

Ann, 56, of Hove, said: "It is obvious that those who recommended this had no idea how useless it would be to the majority of genuine disabled people.

"I am wheelchair-bound most of the time and rely on my husband to get me out and about.

"Imagine how we felt on seeing these stupid spaces placed on a hill that would be impossible for him to push a wheelchair up."

A Brighton and Hove Council spokeswoman said: "The topography of Brighton and Hove means most roads slope down to the sea and as a result it is not possible to put only disabled spaces on flat roads.

"The new spaces are well-used by disabled motorists and we have not had any complaints about them. Their location was chosen because it was central and handy for Churchill Square and other amenities.

"We do sympathise with Mrs Agnew and if she has problems she is welcome to discuss them with our parking manager. We do consult regularly with the Disabled Access Advisory Group about parking for the disabled."