Parking fines hit £100m mark

A record number of parking tickets are being issued to motorists - and the figure looks set to rise

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More drivers are being issued with tickets by local authority wardens

04th January 2007

The number of Penalty Charge Notices handed out by local authorities rose by nearly 20 per cent to a massive 3.4 million in 2005, according to the latest report by the National Parking Adjudication Service.

The increase earned the 139 issuing councils more than £100million in fines - based on figures assuming each owner paid at the on-time discounted rate of £30. That works out at around £15million more than in 2004, when nearly 2.9 million tickets were issued.

An NPAS spokesman said the hike was due to "a significant increase in the number of councils taking over enforcement from the police". In 2004, there were 117 local authorities in control. This rose to 139 in 2005, but the NPAS spokesman added that a further 21 had joined since then.

Harlow Council in Essex recorded the biggest hike in parking fines, with 47 per cent more tickets issued in 2005, compared with the previous year. Its spokesman summed up why an extra 2,388 drivers in the area were fined: "Harlow Council takes action against those who park illegally, and in recent years has taken on more staff to enforce parking regulations."