SOUTHAMPTON is one of the most expensive places to park in the south of England, according to a new report.

A survey of parking charges showed that while airports topped the table as the priciest places to park, Southampton's Portland Terrace car park came in at seventh.

The figures, produced by car park workers' union GMB, put Luton Airport in first place with one hour's parking costing £6.50 and up to four hours running at £26.

Heathrow and Gatwick came in second, third and fourth with prices ranging from £3 per hour to £3.90, and Brighton came in fifth and sixth at £2.80 per hour.

However, Portland Terrace came seventh, also at £2.80 per hour (which works out at between 4p to 5p per minute) or £11.20 for four hours, while the city's Charlotte Place car park also crept in at 24th place with £1.50 an hour or £6 for four hours.

Rob Kelsall, from GMB, said: "The charges demonstrate the extent to which car parks are being used to extract money from motorists."