You wait 20 minutes for a bus, then 36 come along all at once.

This queue of buses was one of the more bizarre scenes of traffic mayhem that took place during the Children's Parade on Saturday.

The city's main bus company is now calling for a fresh look at how the parade is run to prevent a repeat of the gridlock.

Roger French, managing director of Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company, suggested the route might need to be changed for next year's parade.

He said: "The parade was much bigger than in previous years and it took far longer to clear the streets. Taking North Street out of action brought the whole of the city centre to a standstill. Our bus services were affected for three or four hours."

This year's Children's Parade, which traditionally heralds the start of the Brighton Festival, attracted 4,500 young performers, the largest number since it started 15 years ago, plus about 1,000 parents and teachers.

The parade moved through Sydney Street, Kensington Street, North Road, Jubilee Street, Church Street, Pavilion Gardens and across North Street. It then snaked its way through East Street, across the A259 and onto the lower seafront promenade.

Total road closures were enforced except along North Street and the A259. At these points police introduced rolling road closures where traffic was stopped for short periods and then allowed to recommence to enable the parade to cross in batches.

Organisers Same Sky said it had worked very hard over the years with Brighton and Hove City Council and the police to achieve the current route but it was impossible to keep everyone happy.

Laurence Potter, event manager at Same Sky, said he wanted to keep the same route as it went through the old town.

He said: "Of course, we would like to shut all the roads and let the children have total freedom but it would be selfish for us to do that without thinking of the implications for the rest of the city.

"Saturday is a busy day for people. The rolling road closures do cause delays to the bus services but they still keep them running. Shutting North Street or the A259 completely to keep the parade moving at its own leisure would cause an enormous amount of chaos for the bus routes."

Mr Potter said that while the route was virtually set in stone, there were still things that could be done to ease the chaos next year. They included ensuring children move quicker and cutting down the assembly time.