A parking ticket is given out every 2 seconds in UK as firms set to rake in £1.3m in fines this year (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

UK councils handed out nearly 20,000 parking fines every day in 2022, raking in more than £10 million in fines.

A new study has revealed the spots in the country most likely to land motorists a hefty fine, with London, naturally, hogging all of the top five spaces.

The borough of Islington is the parking fine capital of the country, with wardens issuing an average of 1,012 fines every single day in 2022, generating a daily revenue of £44,799.

Yet despite issuing the highest number of fines the North London borough did not top the list in terms of daily revenue generated.

That award instead went to the South London district of Lambeth, which despite ‘only’ issuing 999 fines per day managed to pull in daily revenues of £48,424.

The City of Westminster finished in fourth place, with its total of 843 daily fines placing it just below Waltham Forest, while the east London borough of Newham rounded out the top five by issuing 720 tickets each day.

Outside of the capital Birmingham was the biggest offender on the list, with the council doling out 373 tickets to hapless motorists.

Islington council issued over 1000 parking tickets every day in 2022, making daily profits of nearly £45k (Picture: Getty)

Meanwhile Southampton City Council (313) and Cardiff Council (279) and Oxfordshire (264) all managed to score highly in the analysis, with the seaside town of Christchurch also making the list.

The figures were based on data provided by the 230 UK councils that responded to a Freedom of Information request carried out by Churchill motor insurance.

On average, they found the amount of fines issued had increased by 12% from the previous year.

This increased revenues for councils to an estimated £777,287 per day last year, up £35,113 from 2021.

Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), also known as parking fines, are issued when motorists break parking regulations, such as by parking on double yellow lines or on a single yellow line at a prohibited time.

Fines can be up to £130 in London or up to £70 outside the capital.

The penalty is usually halved if a driver pays within 14 days.

Nicholas Mantel, head of Churchill Motor Insurance, said: ‘Motorists across Britain are regularly being caught out by increased and sometimes complicated parking restrictions.

‘We would encourage drivers to always check parking signs carefully to ensure they avoid any expensive fines.

‘If motorists do receive a parking fine, they have 28 days to pay it or appeal to an independent tribunal.’

Birmingham, Cardiff and Southampton are the worst areas for parking fines outside of the capital (Picture: Getty)

Recent analysis found that the number of parking tickets issued by private companies in Britain reached an average of nearly 30,000 per day between April and June last year, up 50% from the same period in 2021.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: ‘Whichever way they turn and wherever they decide to stop, on-street and off-street, drivers are faced with the threat of parking sanctions.

‘Between the 20,000 tickets issued by councils daily and the 30,000 dished out by private parking companies, motorists are seemingly facing a positive flurry of fines and charges – around one every two seconds.

‘Parking rules are there for a reason and should be respected but at a time when household budgets are under such pressure these numbers beg the obvious question of whether millions of drivers are really risking a big bill for poor parking, or whether over-enthusiastic parking enforcement is putting other objectives, like revitalising our post-pandemic high streets, at risk.’

A spokesperson for the Local Government Association, who represent councils in England and Wales, said: ‘Income raised through on-street parking charges and parking fines is spent on running parking services.

‘Any surplus is spent on essential transport projects, including fixing the £11 billion road repairs backlog, reducing congestion, tackling poor air quality and supporting local bus services.’

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