Motorists face a blitz of fines under plans to introduce bus lane cameras across the city.

Spy cameras that have already caught thousands of drivers in London are to be adopted in Brighton and are expected to collect up to between £150,000 and £250,000 in the first year of a pilot scheme covering just one city centre street.

Brighton and Hove City Council said the scheme was not intended to yield a long-term profit and would free up congested roads to allow buses swifter passage.

Motorists in Brighton and Hove already pay more in Parking fines than in any provincial city in the country other than Birmingham, and critics fear the fines will become another "stealth tax" on driving.

Kevin Delaney of the RAC Foundation said: "You can judge what approach local authorities will take to bus lane enforcement from how strictly they deal with parking offences. If they treat motorists making minor and major yellow line offences just the same then they tend to do the same for bus lane enforcement.

"There are a significant number of councils that it seems are now being driven by predictions set at the beginning of the year for the amount of bus lane fines expected to be issued, which in effect become targets."

The council hopes to begin issuing fines early next year following legislation allowing bus lane enforcement to be moved from the police to councils.

Four CCTV cameras already trained on the bus lane in Western Road, but rarely used by police, would be reassigned to yield an estimated 2,500 penalty notices a year.

Fines have yet to be decided but if the council follows the capital's pattern, a ticket would cost £50 if paid within two weeks and £100 after that. The council has already indicated fines would be more than a parking ticket - £60 at the full rate - but less than £100.

A survey by The Argus in the bus lane approaching the Clock Tower from Dyke Road suggests clamping down on rogue motorists could become a lucrative operation.

Between 2.30pm and 3.30pm yesterday, 80 drivers broke the law there, not including delivery and service vans.

Drivers in some parts of London complain bus lanes can be confusing and inadequately signposted.

Roger McArthur, chairman of lobby group Traders Against Parking Persecution, said the system of driving and parking in Brighton and Hove was too punitive and revenue-based.

Builder Mr McArthur, 58, said: "The money the council is making from parking now is astronomical and now it is going to collect even more from drivers.

"Once this bus lane enforcement is up and running it will expand and expand it to make as much money as possible.

"That's the only thing it's about.

"The buses seem to run on time anyway so I don't see what the problem is."

A council spokeswoman said: "Once the scheme gets going and people stop driving in the bus lanes we do not anticipate making any money, in fact we hope it will just about break even.

"The idea is not to make a profit, but to clear the bus lanes of illegal traffic to help increase bus use, free up the city from congestion and reduce pollution. If any extra revenue at all is raised it will be ploughed straight back into the scheme."