Drivers are being offered lessons on how to pay for parking by phone.

Brighton and Hove City Council libraries staff will be showing residents how to register online to pay for parking by telephone at a number of drop-in sessions.

Motoring campaigners have said the lessons prove that the system is “not simple and straight forward” to use and called upon the council to retain an option for paying by cash for motorists not familiar with smartphone technology.

Last month the council announced a major rollout of the technology, which will see half of the city’s pay-and-display parking meters removed from the city’s streets by June.

The council states that scrapping half the city’s 1,300 meters will save them £250,000.

The Argus revealed in January that maintaining the parking meters had cost the council £2 million over the past four years.

The PayByPhone system was introduced initially to just 17 seafront parking locations in September 2013.

A three-month trial run, which involved taking 34 meters out of action and encouraging motorists to pay by phone or at shops with Paypoint facilities, was launched in November.

The council then extended the removal plans following the success of the trial, which saw more than 85,000 transactions made by phone and just 19 complaints.

Steve Percy, from the People’s Parking Protest, said: “If this system is as simple and straightforward as the council has been saying for ages, why do they need to run classes to show people how to do it.

“Why have they decided to bring in a system which is more complicated.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Putting money into a meter doesn’t require any special training.

“This needs to be phased in over a long period of time, not just a couple of months.

“The council needs to retain an alternative so that people can use cash.”

A council press release said that residents could also get advice on texting, using the internet, getting an email address or using Facebook at the drop-in sessions.

The events will be held at the Jubilee Library from April 20 to 26 between 10am and 1pm, on Monday April 20 at New Larchwood Café in Coldean between 2pm and 3.30pm and on Friday, April 25 at Saltdean Library between 2pm and 5pm.