New gates on The Level, Brighton, looked fine when mothers first saw them.

But their enthusiasm evaporated when they realised the gates were too narrow to get through with a double buggy. Mum Sarah-Jane Jeffs, of Old Shoreham Road, Hove, who works as a childminder, said: "You have to get the children out and the shopping off. It does not really welcome people to the park. Even with one it is a pain because it is a really small gap."

She and other mothers who use the park met council officials yesterday about the problem.

Brighton and Hove Council said the new gates would be widened in the next few weeks.