City Parking attendants are asking for police-style stab vests because so many of them have been threatened with knives.

Threats are being made almost every day and the men and women who enforce parking regulations in Brighton and Hove increasingly fear for their safety, a union claimed today .

The GMB said parking attendants were being spat at, punched and confronted by violent or abusive drivers.

Organiser Gary Smith said the threats had become so bad it was only a matter of time before one of the attendants was seriously hurt.

He said: "The staff have asked to be provided with stab vests, particularly those working at night, considering the number of threats they have had.

"Certainly those who work at night and those who are responsible for vehicles being towed away get particular hassle."

The union is launching a safety survey this week to find out how dangerous Brighton and Hove's streets are for the attendants.

Mr Smith called for action from National Car Parks, which holds the contract to enforce parking regulations, and from Brighton and Hove City Council to make sure staff were safe as they patrolled the city.

And he urged drivers to treat the attendants with more respect. He said: "We know the parking scheme is often contentious but the people who work on the service are not responsible for its introduction.

"We appreciate tempers get frayed but we must all recognise that behind the uniform there is another human being just doing a difficult job."

Parking attendants said they had been told not to speak to the Press.

The council promised to wage war on illegal parking when it took over enforcement responsibility from the police in July last year and handed the £2.3 million contract to National Car Parks.

The blitz has led to more than 139,000 penalty charge notices being issued and more than 2,500 vehicles being towed away.

Transport councillor Simon Battle said he hoped the one-year-old parking rules would become less contentious as drivers got used to them.

He was not aware of a request for stab vests but pledged to make sure staff were safe.

He said: "I think the attendants have done a terrific job to enforce parking regulations and I think it is quite wrong that they are often on the receiving end of threats and intimidation.

"If there are things we can do to improve the situation, we would be happy to work with National Car Parks to do that."

Eighty attendants are employed to enforce the parking regulations.