A hospital has put up its Parking charges to stop people using it as a cut-price car park.

The rise was introduced at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton after on-street charges on surrounding roads were increased by Brighton and Hove City Council.

Royal Sussex managers are worried that if their prices are cheaper, people will use the hospital's spaces instead, leaving less room for legitimate visitors.

However patient groups said they were disappointed that patients and hospital visitors will have to pay out more as a result.

People parking at the Royal Sussex now pay £2 for up to two hours and £1.50 on surrounding streets.

Parking is at a premium at the hospital, which is the busiest in Sussex.

It has 497 spaces, of which 352 are shared between patients, visitors and members of staff and the rest are for staff only.

Hospital visitors often find themselves queuing for up to 45 minutes while waiting for a space to become available.