A total of 5,151 households are vying for just 3,961 residents' parking spaces in Brighton and Hove.

The council gives out an average of 1.3 parking permits for each available space in its 12 residents' parking areas. The figure rises to 1.7 parking permits per space in popular areas.

This means up to 1,190 permit holders could find themselves unable to park during busy times of the day.

This does not take into account the number of households with more than one car or the number of people without permits who park illegally in these spaces.

Residents are now becoming increasingly disgruntled with the situation. Some feel they are paying for a service which is not being provided.

According to the 1991 census, there were 104,152 cars in Brighton and Hove, excluding commuters' vehicles.

This compares with about 17,000 on-street car parking places in the city's central area, bounded by Sackville Road.

It is estimated that in some city centre streets, there are probably more than 1,000 residents but less than 100 parking spaces.

Residents in Brighton and Hove pay £80 per year for their parking permit, which works out at just over £1.50 per week.

The exception is the Royal Sussex County Hospital scheme in Kemp Town, which is currently free.

Chris Day, of Argyle Street, Brighton, is one resident who pays for a parking permit but objects to the way the scheme is operated.

Mr Day, an architect, estimates he has to park illegally on the pavement outside his home at least once a fortnight.

He said: "The lion's share of parking in Argyle Street is residents' parking but it is a lottery whether you get a space or not.

"There are always cars illegally parked on the pavement, I have to do it myself sometimes. When I realised the council issued more permits than there were spaces, I thought it was an error but the council doesn't seem to see anything wrong with it.

"Surely if people are paying for a permit they have a right to a space. I find it very frustrating that I have to park illegally outside my house and get a parking ticket for it when I have already paid for a permit.

"How can the council charge for a service which they are not providing?"

Councillor Brian Oxley, who represents Westbourne Ward, was one of a trio of councillors who helped defeat plans to introduce a parking scheme in the eastern end of the ward in 1999.

He said: "I am not surprised people are unhappy with the situation as these are exactly the concerns raised by people in our ward when the council wanted to introduce it here. If people are paying for a service they expect to receive that service.

"Also, the scheme has never taken into account the number of households with more than one car."

Brighton and Hove City Council has already pledged to clamp down on illegal parking when it takes over responsibility for enforcement in the summer.

A spokeswoman for the council said that residents were told when they applied for a permit it did not guarantee them a space.

She said: "It is council policy to issue more residents' parking permits than there are spaces. The aim of the scheme is to give residents priority. It does not entitle them to their own private parking space.

"One of the reasons we do this is because there is a demand for these permits. In central Brighton the waiting list is a year."