This converts into a collection of £234 million (€292 million or $367 million) despite appealing. Compared to 2010 figures, 2011 saw an increase of 246,255 tickets while the number of active traffic wardens dropped from 3,882 in 2010 to 3,693 in 2011.

Obviously, the most number of tickets were dished out to drivers in London (about 4,124,561) after which came Liverpool (146,503) followed by Manchester (138,558) and Birmingham (132,684). These results were revealed by an insurance company after they requested the authorities under Freedom of Information.

Robin Reames, chief claims officer at insurer swiftcover.com, said: “Shortage of parking has become a huge issue in towns and cities across the UK in the past five to 10 years, however, this doesn’t excuse illegal parking. Although it might be an easy option to park on a double yellow for a short time, it’s potentially dangerous as well as being illegal, and can result in a fine. Furthermore, if your illegally parked car is a hazard and a moving vehicle crashed in to it, an insurer could in theory request up to a third of the bill from the at fault motorist.”

A Liverpool council spokesman said: “There was a fall in the number of tickets issued to people who park illegally in the year 2010-11, but these particular figures also include penalty notices issued to people caught using bus lanes. We take action in response to complaints from residents and businesses about people parking inconsiderately, such as blocking junctions and pavements. The income generated is used for council services and there is an appeals process if people want to challenge their fine. The latest figures, for the year 2011-12, show that the overall number of penalty notices issued has fallen to around 130,000.”

Of all the tickets dished out to drivers in UK, every fourth ticket were disputed with a success rate of 39%. The most efficient wardens were in Liverpool who dished out an average of 2,616 fines each.

You can avoid having to pay high London parking fees and fines and find free parking in London by using the Tube and our text service to find free parking near tube stations outside the congestion zone.

Simply text the word Parking and the name of a tube station OUTSIDE THE CONGESTION ZONE to 80039 and you’ll receive a text back giving you three locations near the tube, or the station closest to it on the same line.

Fifty motorists a DAY were clobbered by wardens or CCTV cameras in busy Southampton Row, central London.

The road in the borough of Camden saw 19,335 tickets issued to net authorities £1,198,870. It headed a list of ten roads in the capital which between them hauled in £6.7million from penalties in 2011.

Second-worst fines blackspot was Bounds Green Road in Haringey, North London, where 14,000 drivers were hit for £1,1,002,360.

Third came Clapham Park Road in Clapham, South West London, which raked in £875,658 in fines from 14,442 motorists.

Outside the capital, wardens hit 5,000 drivers in the High Street of Slough, Berks.

A spokesman for Camden Council said: ‘Southampton Row is a busy central London road with high volumes of traffic.

‘Several major bus routes run along the road, so bus lanes must be kept clear at all times to prevent buses being delayed. ‘It is important to ensure that motorists follow traffic regulations so traffic is able to move freely and safely, for the benefit of all road users. ‘Any money raised from penalty charge notices is re-invested into transport services for Londoners including a dial-a-ride service and freedom passes for the elderly.
‘While penalty charges are obviously unpopular, there would be chaos without this regulation.’

A spokesman for Haringey Council said: ‘The figure relates primarily to contraventions of box junctions and a “No U Turn” on Bounds Green Road.

‘The level of contraventions was higher than previous years due to extensive TfL roadwork’s on the nearby A405 as drivers tried to take shortcuts, to avoid congestion, which involved completing this banned U turn.’

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A total of 11,880 drivers have been penalised at Harben Parade in Swiss Cottage, raising £1,544,400 for Transport for London. The ticket tally accounts for three quarters of the total issued in the period along the entire five miles of Finchley Road.

The section of road covers 16 parking slots and 12 loading bays. Eight signs placed at various angles give instructions for use of the spaces. Drivers are confused as to which bays are for parking and which are for loading only.

Four cameras monitor the stretch, and a fifth is being installed. Those filmed pulling into the wrong spot have been given £130 fines.

Three signs are parallel to the road, while the remaining five are face-on. Campaigners say drivers cannot see the parallel signs and are unaware they are in a loading bay when they park.

Shopkeeper Chan Patel, 59, who runs Eurosport next to the bays, said: “I see motorists pull up. They get out to try to work out if it is okay to park there and in that time they get a ticket from the camera. I try to run out and warn them, but if they are seen not loading when they are parked in the loading bay, they get a ticket.”

Motorist Angela Roseborne said: “It is terribly misleading. There are so many signs and they are almost identical. It’s impossible to tell which is a loading bay and which is a parking bay.”

Property manager Mike Harrison, 57, said: “I wrote and complained about the confusion and TfL cancelled my ticket. They didn’t admit they were wrong, but said as I had misunderstood the restrictions they would waive the fine.”

Parking campaigner Paul Pearson, of penaltychargenotice.com said: “The signs are all supposed to be facing oncoming traffic, but a number are not and they are confusing motorists.

“I know of cases where this has been challenged, and the adjudicator has agreed, and the fine has been waived. I would urge anyone who gets a ticket in the bays to appeal. TfL should refund everyone caught out in this way.”

Paul Cowperthwaite, TfL’s head of contracted services, said: “Penalty charge notices are only issued when it is clear the vehicle is parked in the loading bay and not being loaded or unloaded. We continually review signage across the network and are content it is clear.”

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Today’s figures from the NHS Information Centre show that 28% of hospitals in the UK increased parking charges between 2010 and 2011, with only 16% cutting them back.

“It is often money patients do not have in these troubled financial times and is a tax on the sick when people have already paid for their health service,” said Katherine Murphy of the Patients Association.

“Hospitals should be properly supported by the government and should not have to rely on charging patients and visitors to park to make ends meet.”

Among the big risers were the Royal Marsden, a major London cancer hospital, which doubled its fees from 50p to £1 an hour and the North West London Hospitals Trust, which hiked hourly charges from an average of 88p to £1.58. The average cost of parking at hospitals in London and the south-east was found to be &1.02 an hour.

Despite the continuing rise in punitive parking costs, the government has no intention of putting a cap on charges, or abolishing them altogether, as in most of Scotland and Wales.

“NHS organisations must make the best use of public funds, and this includes setting car parking charges at a rate which is reasonable,” said Health Minister Simon Burns.
“But introducing free hospital car parking could cost the NHS more than £100 million.”

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Up to 400,000 properties, businesses and homes will be hit by restrictions, some of which will already be in place or include extended hours.

London 2012 has 34 competition venues.

The free permits are part of the transport management plans being drawn up by London 2012, Transport for London (TfL) and the boroughs to cope with the demand during the Games and help connect local routes with the Olympic Route Network (ORN). This largely carries authorised Olympic transport.

A London 2012 transport spokesman said: “About a million permits will need to be issued – resident, business and visitor permits.

“We are working with the boroughs to find the easiest way for the people to get these permits.”

Details are still to be confirmed but they are set to be available online, by telephone and in person.

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Games organisers will be on hand to answer questions about permit controlled parking zones at the Plum Tree studio of the Leyton Leisure Lagoon in Leyton High Road tomorrow (Thursday) from 4pm to 8pm.

They will also be at The Epicentre in West Street, Leytonstone, during the same hours on Tuesday (March 13) and at Leytonstone Library in Church Lane for the same period the following day.

Controlled parking zones will be put in place in Leyton and Leytonstone to stop people attending the Olympic Games from blocking residents’ parking.

A map of the parking plan for the borough was not available on the website of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) from today.

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Town halls are considering using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database to manage permits and fines, but campaigners fear it will lead to more incorrect tickets being issued and increased surveillance of drivers.

The DVLA said councils now have only limited access to information about abandoned or “nuisance” vehicles, or to help combat fly-tipping.

It has had requests from Newham, Kingston, Kensington and Chelsea, Southwark and Camden councils for blanket online access to its database, plus a “consortium” application from London Councils, parent body of the 32 boroughs.

The requests have so far been refused, the DVLA said. London Councils said access would “provide a cheaper, more efficient, paperless parking system”.

The measures requested are similar to the enhanced powers granted as a “one-off” to Olympics organiser Locog to prevent parking near venues and manage permits during the Games.

You can avoid having to pay high London parking fees and fines and find free parking in London by using the Tube and our text service to find free parking near tube stations outside the congestion zone.

Simply text the word Parking and the name of a tube station OUTSIDE THE CONGESTION ZONE to 80039 and you’ll receive a text back giving you three locations near the tube, or the station closest to it on the same line.

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In 2007 residents and traders in Station Way, Buckhurst Hill, were initially consulted over whether they wanted new parking restrictions imposed in their street as part of the district-wide, £1 million parking review.

The review was designed to resolve conflict between residents and commuters over parking spaces near tube stations.

At that point, Roding Valley London Underground Station was in Zone 5, and was not as frequently used by commuters as nearby Zone 4 stations so residents decided to opt out of the review.

However, the year after this, Roding Valley station was moved in to zone 4, and suddenly residents found their street packed with commuters, drawn to use the station by the sudden drop in the price of travelling from there.

With parking restrictions due to be imposed in streets surrounding Buckhurst Hill tube station in the coming months, residents now fear a another surge in the number of commuters using the station.

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At Wednesday’s full council meeting Terry Neville slammed the council’s “flawed” decision to press ahead with the scheme which he claimed could cripple Enfield high street as shoppers flock to large, out-of-town shopping centres with free parking.

But in a move likely to infuriate residents, traders and shoppers Labour remained adamant that the tariffs are here to stay.

Councillor Del Goddard dismissed the opposition’s argument that the sky-high cost of parking was driving people from town centres adding that the woes of the high street had to be looked at “in context”.

His tough stance on the controversial issue was echoed by leader of the council Doug Taylor who pointed to the VAT hike and the poor state of the national economy as the main reasons high streets are struggling.

But as the debate grew increasingly heated Terry Neville hit out at Labour’s arguments and pointed out that the out-of-town stores have to cope with exactly the same pressures, but still seemed to be doing much better than their town-centre counterparts.

He concluded his attack on the Labour decisions by calling for a vote on the issue.

But this plea was shrugged off by Mr Goddard who told the councillor: “taking it to a vote would not be constructive”.

Labour’s determination to keep the tariffs, which will swell council coffers by as much as £100,000 meant the motion was easily defeated by 31 to 23.

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From this week, Barnet Council has introduced the £1 half-hour vouchers, which are available for purchase online through its website.

A one-hour voucher costs £2. One-hour and half-hour vouchers are also available to buy in the borough’s 16 libraries, with a minimum order of four.

Since one-hour parking vouchers were introduced in December, 3,628 have been sold online.

The number of motorists now registered to pay for parking by phone in Barnet has risen to 162,437, an increase of 30,000 since pay and display machines were decommissioned in December.

The change has caused uproar among shoppers and traders, who claim the scheme is “killing the high streets”.

Parking was among the hottest topics at a Talk London event in Hendon last week, hosted by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Campaigners attended in matching t-shirts emblazened with slogans opposing pay-by-phone payment methods.

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