An MP has called for a council to abandon its plans for a controversial parking scheme.

Norman Baker, MP for Lewes, has written to East Sussex County Council to oppose the proposed parking regime for Seaford.

The council is calling for public responses to its proposal to introduce charges for on-street parking.

Mr Baker asked for a commitment that the plans would be dropped if they proved unpopular.

The Liberal Democrat MP said: "The county council's proposals are way over the top. The words sledgehammer and nut come to mind.

I am afraid there is a suspicion the proposed scheme is less about dealing with Seaford's parking problems, such as they are, and more about raising revenue for the Conservative county council to spend elsewhere."

Mr Baker said traders told him maps used during the consultation process were out of date and did not show streets built in the past ten years.

Residents and business people have said householders in a number of streets were not consulted. They include Fitzgerald Avenue and Fitzgerald Park, where parking would be restricted and residents' bays introduced.

The council has extended the deadline for responses to February 12 after reports of some consultation papers getting lost in the post.

Money raised by the parking scheme will go to Lewes District Council - not the county council.

A county council spokesman said: "We are not interested in imposing a scheme on the people of Seaford.

If they want to keep the status quo, which we think is quite a congested town centre, that is fine - we won't do anything. If, however, they want a parking scheme, we will give them one."

He said the council was investigating whether the consultation used out-of-date maps.

He said: "Our normal procedure is to use the latest map data from Ordnance Survey at the time of release. In 2005 when the maps were released the latest data was from 2004.

"Because surveying is not constant, even the latest maps can be out of date. As part of the consultation we will correct any changes on the ground that are not reflected in the data."