A group which was created to protect an historic park is appealing to people to oppose the planned introduction of parking charges.

The Friends of Stanmer Park (FoSP) will attend Brighton and Hove City Council's environment committee meeting on Thursday to protest about the plans to charge motorists visiting the park.

The group fears it will not only dissuade people from using the park but may also set a precedent for the council to charge for using the city's other parks.

The committee is being recommended to instruct officers to bring forward proposals for introducing a car parking charge at Stanmer Park to help pay for work to the park and to cover the cost of dedicated staff to oversee the parking arrangements.

The council wants to make changes including creating bunds, or mounds, to prevent people driving onto the park itself.

Jamie Hooper, chairman of the group, lives in Stanmer Village and said: "We have been fighting this all the way.

"Stanmer is a rural park on the edge of the city in the South Downs and at present receives just a Sunday hourly bus service which is inaccessible from most of the city residential neighbourhoods."

The group believes motorists will drive to nearby Wild Park or Sheepcote Valley, or even to Preston Park or Devils Dyke, where there are no charges.

It undertook its own park survey to find out what visitors thought was appropriate.

Mr Hooper said: "More than 85 per cent of visitors were opposed to charges. It was agreed last October that the council would work with FoSP to find a suitable solution. In July the council told community groups it would not impose charges but has now changed its mind."

The council says other parks throughout the UK charge to park and the money would be ploughed back into the park.