Parking tickets handed out by private firms increase 25pc

THE number of parking tickets issued by private firms rose by nearly a quarter in the second half of last year, figures have revealed.

Data from the DVLA show that 5.7million tickets were issued between July and December 2022, up from 4.6million in the same period the year before.

The figures also show that parking fines rose by nearly 68 per cent over the last five years, when compared to the 3.4million issued in 2017.

With each private ticket costing drivers up to £100, the total annual cost for drivers could exceed £1.1billion.

The firms operate on private land such as supermarkets, shopping centres, leisure facilities, NHS trusts and motorway service areas.

The Government has tried to crack down on some of the worst practices from the sector, with a code of practice coming into force by the end of 2023.

Across the second half of last year, 184 parking firms requested vehicle records from the DVLA to issue fines.

To officially request details from the DVLA firms must be registered with the British Parking Association. They are charged £2.50 for each record.

Steve Gooding, RAC Foundation director, said: “If only the rest of the economy was booming like the private parking sector, perhaps we’d all be feeling more prosperous.

“Private parking looks set to be a billion pound-a-year business, if it isn’t already, with demands for up to £100 a time being sent out to drivers at the rate of more than one every three seconds.”