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Hundreds of ultra-orthodox Jews have clashed with police in Jerusalem for a third consecutive Saturday over a car park which opens on the Sabbath.

Police said the protesters, wearing traditional Hassidic clothing, threw stones and jumped in front of vehicles.

The Sabbath is observed by religious Jews as a day of rest, when working, driving and trading are forbidden.

The protesters say the municipal car park will attract tourists and encourage business on the holy day.

Protesters, praying and chanting "Shabbes" - the Yiddish word for Sabbath - gathered at a police cordon at the entrance to the car park, near Jerusalem's Old City.

Some lay in the road to prevent cars from entering.

"Hundreds of ultra-orthodox tried to overrun police barricades and threw stones at our men in several sectors of Jerusalem," police spokesman Schmuel Ben Rubi, told the AFP news agency .

He said there had been no injuries or arrests so far.

However, television footage showed people in religious clothing being moved by police or put into police cars.

One man who had crawled underneath the wheels of a stationary bus was reported to have been taken away by police.

There were also clashes in the nearby ultra-orthodox neighbourhood of Mea Shearim, where police had been deployed.

The car park was opened by the Jerusalem municipality last month to provide extra facilities for visitors to the city.

But the protesters are angry at what they see as a move which will "profane" the Sabbath.

The row has highlighted tensions between Jerusalem's ultra-orthodox Jews, known as Haredim, and the majority secular population.