A web site giving live information about bus times has proved so popular it has broken down.

Brighton and Hove City Council boasted its £70,000 city transport site offered the most up-to-date advice on congestion, roadworks and places of interest.

It also contained live updates on bus arrival times for stops across the city.

But three weeks after the site went live, the service has been withdrawn.

Council officials said the technology had proved so popular the server had not been able to cope with the number of visitors.

Specialists have had to take the site down while the software used to power the searches for information is improved.

The site also states bluntly that there is "no live data" about spaces in car parks - even "predicted spaces information" is not available.

A council spokeswoman said: "We've been having some technical difficulties with the site.

"It was much more popular than we anticipated.

"It was swamped with users so we're upgrading the software as quickly as possible so people can make use of it again.

"Hopefully, the bus information will be on the site either at the end of this week or at the beginning of the next."

Visitors to the web pages, which are linked from the main council web site, are promised the latest traffic information.

The site says: "No matter where you are in the city or where you want to go, the web site will be able to tell when your bus is due in real time."

But when web surfers try to access the bus timetable, they are greeted with an automated message saying: "Unfortunately we have had to remove the Real Time Bus Information facility until we have rectified the reduced access problem.

"Please accept our apologies, we hope to renew this facility as soon as possible."

Commuter Ian Beggs, 32, of Preston Circus, Brighton, said: "I don't have a car and rely on the buses to get to work in the morning but there is nothing worse than having to stand out in the cold and rain.

"I was really looking forward to being able to find out when the next service would actually arrive before I left the house.

"When I saw the web site had been withdrawn I just laughed because I thought this service was too good to be true."

The site is at www.citytransport.org.uk