Churchgoers are feeling the wrath of a city's almighty parking wardens who descend on their roads during Sunday services.

Congregations have been emerging from their prayers to find tickets on to their car windscreens.

Leaders of the Roman Catholic and Church of England churches in Rottingdean have criticised parking attendants for suddenly appearing in the village to target worshippers.

On Sunday, two traffic wardens were seen by the village pond at 9.20am, waiting for the services at St Margaret's and Our Lady of Lourdes Churches to start.

Once the congregations were in their pews, the wardens went round the village ticketing any car infringing parking regulations, including cars parked up Whiteway Lane, next to the Roman Catholic Church, Our Lady of Lourdes.

The vicar of St Margaret's, Father Martin Morgan, warned his congregation the wardens were about and questioned the purpose of the sudden visits during the services.

Fr Martin, who got a parking ticket on his car quashed when he parked on a church-owned grass verge during a christening, said: "To appear just before 9.30am on a Sunday is obviously to catch churchgoers.

"You don't see wardens at 2pm on a Friday afternoon when there are cars parked on double-yellow lines in High Street, Rottingdean, creating traffic jams."

Father Charles Jefferies, of Our Lady of Lourdes, has written letters to Brighton and Hove City Council on behalf of his congregation who have received tickets, expressing concern people might be put off from attending church because they fear getting a ticket.

He is also concerned the regular Sunday blitz on Rottingdean will prevent drivers dropping off elderly and disabled people near his church.

The parking attendants work for National Car Parks (NCP), which enforces the parking regulations in Brighton and Hove.

A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church said: "There does seem to be a problem with parking wardens ticketing members while they are at church in Rottingdean.

"The problem seems to have started immediately the council contracted out the enforcement of parking to NCP.

"The first instance was last Easter Sunday when a warden arrived in the village and started ticketing people who had been attending the Easter Mass."

A spokeswoman for the city council said: "There is no deliberate targeting of churchgoers in Rottingdean but we should point out that going to church does not exempt anyone from illegal parking."