Police have launched a clampdown on drivers who flout the new parking rules in Burgess Hill town centre.

Twenty drivers were given on-the-spot £30 tickets after new rules stopping people from parking on single yellow lines came into force yesterday.

The new regulations were introduced by West Sussex County Council to end two years of parking chaos.

But some shop owners say the blitz will damage town centre trade.

Paul Mitchell, of Unwins, in Church Road, said: "It's part of the council's great ploy to pedestrianise the whole of the town and make it worse.

"People will go elsewhere. That's what happened when they made the car parks pay-and-display."

Howard Burrell, of Nursery World, in Church Road, said: "The parking has worked pretty well up until now.

"It is a bit draconian to stop people pulling up outside a shop and buying a couple of things."

Burgess Hill's parking problem began in May 2000, when a resident won an appeal against a fine for parking on a single yellow line in Church Road.

The driver had been prosecuted under a traffic order for Church Road approved in 1980.

But a clause in the regulations said the restriction would not apply if it clashed with any earlier orders. He discovered that it did - a 1978 order had not been revoked.

That left police unable to enforce the town centre restrictions - until now.

The greatest problem has been in Church Road, with buses unable to pass and drivers becoming irate because of frequent traffic jams.

PC Jon Lelliott said: "The town is running a lot smoother than in the last 18 months.

PC Lelliott said police had been targeting Church Road, Lower Church Road, Mill Road and Silverdale Road but they would be covering other areas.