£269m war on drivers

The full scale of the war being waged on motorists in London is revealed today.

Drivers paid an astonishing £269 million in fines in the capital last year.

The figure covers clamping and tow-away fees, parking fines and penalties for driving in bus lanes.

Parking fines alone amounted to £222 million, 37 per cent up on the year before, according to a survey by a motorists' campaign group.

Westminster council heads the "rich list" by taking an estimated £52.6 million in parking penalties, with revenue 34 per cent up on the year before.

The second-biggest earner is Camden, which took nearly £18million in parking fines, with income 41 per cent up on the previous year.

The most astonishing gain was in Newham. Parking revenue shot up 135 per cent to help generate £6.9 million.

The figures are from a survey by AppealNow.com, a webbased service that fights "unfair" tickets on behalf of motorists. It shows Kensington and Chelsea in third place, earning £14.6 million from parking fines, 24 per cent higher than the year before.

Next is Islington with £10.4 million. "The latest figures show an amazing amount of money being

taken from motorists," said chartered accountant Barrie Segal, who founded AppealNow.com.

"The total revenue figures - conservative estimates based on the number of tickets issued and vehicles dealt with by clampers and towers - show many councils are using the system to raise money rather than manage traffic.

"Westminster issued 7.7 per cent more tickets than in the previous year yet, because of the congestion charge, they agreed that fewer vehicles parked in the borough.

"How did they issue seven per cent more tickets when traffic dropped?"

Mr Segal said analysis of his data showed "'thousands" of tickets were being issued unfairly.

He said the rise in maximum parking fines - from £80 to £100 with a 50 per cent discount for swift payment - had also swelled council coffers.

"Motorists feel powerless to stop this reign of terror. Thousands are suffering," he said.

Today's figures come days after the Evening Standard reported that a record 5.9 million parking and bus lane fines were issued in the year to 31 March - up more than 500,000 on last year.

Those statistics came from the Association for London Government (ALG), which represents boroughs.

Reasons given for the rise were that more councils enforced bus lanes with CCTV, and there were more controlled parking zones.

But Nick Lester, the ALG's transport and environment director, denied revenue rose "anywhere near" as steeply as Mr Segal's claims.

"His estimates are too high," Mr Lester said. "It would be unlawful for councils to use enforcement as a revenue-raising exercise "It is lawful for them to make a surplus during legitimate enforcement."