Revealed: Wolverhampton's top 10 worst streets for parking fines

The city centre dominated the list for the roads where the most penalty charges were handed out in 2015/16, with Red Lion Street the worst with 971, followed by 797 in Cleveland Street and 742 in Waterloo Road.

The council has three levels of fines. For those who overstay on pay and display car parks, the fine is £50, reduced to £25 if paid within 14 days.

People who drive in bus lanes face fines of £60, which are reduced to £30, while those who park on double yellow lines face £70 fines, reduced to £35.

This means on Red Lion Street, the authority will have raked in a minimum of £25,275 if drivers paid the lowest fine within 14 days, up to a maximum of £67,970 for the £70 penalty.

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The next road to receive the highest number of penalties was Cleveland Street with 797, followed by Waterloo Road which had 742 penalty charge notices and Wulfruna Street which saw 692 fines handed out.

Queen Street was next with 692 tickets issued, then North Street with 669, Thornley Street with 659, Bell Street with 633, Clarence Street with 577 and Cheapside with 525.

Drivers parking inconsiderately outside schools in Wolverhampton have also been targeted with fines of up to £80,000 handed out in the past six years.

A total of 241 £70 notices have already been dished out to inconsiderate motorists this school year.

The worst school area for bad parking was around Warstones Primary, where 39 penalty notices have been handed out in the past year alone.

Black cab driver Mel Hussain said he believed many people faced problems when deciding where to park in the city while others deliberately flout the rules, choosing to take the financial hit.

He said: "Many people are confused by the one-way system here. Some people park in taxi ranks before going on a night out, as they know they'll get a fine anyway. There's a real problem here."

Jock Dreadster, who works in the city unloading sound equipment, said he had been fined several times on Queen Street and claimed parking had got worse since the road system had changed.

He said: "I have been fined loads on here, probably at least five times in the last 12 months. I have tried to explain to them (wardens) I have just got to run into to somewhere for a few minutes and I will be back to move my van but they just put their hands up as to say 'I don't want to listen'. They can be overzealous. I know they are just doing their job but so are we."

Mr Dreadster added: "It used to be pay and display on here (Queen Street) and there used to be 30 to 40 parking bays but now they have halved the amount of parking on here and it's created problems."

His colleague Paul Ablitt said: "I paid for a ticket for two hours the other day but it only put one on. I phoned up and got an extra hour put on but the warden still slapped a ticket on. They can be unreasonable. I don't know if I will have to pay it."

Jaz Banga questioned what happened to the money generated from fines.

He said: "What happens to the finances generated? Are they putting it back into reduction of public transport costs to ease the strain? We know the council aren't supposed to profit from it. But what is it being spent on that is the question?"

Dee Girezha is another that has fallen foul of the wardens. She said: "The biggest problem is that there is no parking. I had a ticket yesterday. I parked outside the post office to go into my bank and saw a guy coming and said I would be just two minutes but he still gave me a ticket. They can be very cruel."

Wolverhampton council spokesman Tim Clark said the city centre, a controlled parking zone, has the 'highest number of parking restrictions'.