Parking fines quadruple in five years as one in ten are likely to get tickets

Conservatives accuse ministers of contributing to the rise by starving councils of central funding and forcing them to raise cash through strict parking measures.

"Many motorists will be deeply fed up that the number of parking tickets has rocketed by more than 400 per cent in the past five years," said Tory Transport spokesman Theresa Villiers.

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"On average, one in ten motorists will face a parking ticket this year.

"This steep increase has Labour's fingerprints all over it. The heavy hand of the Government has loaded more and more bureaucracy and obligations on to local authorities without giving them the resources to fund them.

"This puts huge pressure on councils to raise more revenue through parking measures. Labour have once again let down the motorist badly."

The total number of tickets issued in 2005, the latest figures available, hit a record 3,402,860. That is a 19 per cent rise of more than half a million on 2004. It is also more than a four-fold increase compared to the 794,851 issued in 2000-2001.

The rise has been driven by the increasing number of councils which are cashing in after taking over from the police responsibility for parking enforcement.

Many motorists suspect they are victims of unfair practices which are designed to raise revenue rather than keep the roads clear.

The five areas with the biggest number of tickets issued were Birmingham 176,382, Brighton & Hove 160,018, Manchester 136,005, Liverpool 92,642 and Nottingham 75,350. The National Parking Adjudication Service - responsible for appeals against unfairly issued tickets - says councils must not play "fast and loose" with the legal restrictions on tickets.

It deals with cases after a council's appeals procedure has been exhausted.,

In 2006 a total of 9,449 motorists appealed, of which 2,592 were allowed and 2,749 were not contested by the council. This total of 5,341 successful appeals represents 57 per cent of the total.

However, winning NPAS appeals can be a post-code lottery, depending on the attitude of the council.

Motorists who appealed against Ribble Valley parking tickets won 100 per cent of cases - with the council losing half and failing to contest the other half. However, only nine per cent of appeals against Reigate and Banstead council in Surrey were successful.

The Road Traffic Act 1991 opened the way for so-called "decriminalised parking". This meant councils could run their own parking schemes and keep the cash.

NPAS has criticised councils whose wardens slap tickets on cars whose drivers have gone for change to pay for their ticket.

Motorists stuck at a paying machine behind a "fumbling or indecisive" driver should be exempt from a ticket, it says.

NPAS says: "Some councils hold the unbending belief that the motorist's duty is to have the right change in his possession before entering the car park - whatever the circumstances.

"Others appear to regard the act of going for change as a contravention in its own right. This is not the case."