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Dudley school spy car brings in more than £30,000 from parents' poor parking

More than 800 fines have been issued to parents who have been caught out by a “spy car” cracking down on poor parking outside schools in Dudley.

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The biggest number of fines were handed out in Church Road, Coseley, outside Christ Church Primary School. Photo: Google Maps

Around £30,000 has been paid out by parents in the borough who have been pulled up about their parking since the measure was introduced in 2017.

Now, as the new school year has begun, parents are being given a timely reminder to park responsibly if they have to drive children to school.

The biggest number of fines were handed out in Church Road, Coseley, outside Christ Church Primary School, followed by roads near St Joseph’s Primary School in Hillcrest Road.

The Dudley Council camera vehicle has been out on the streets since September 2017 looking for evidence of bad parking outside schools – with parents facing fines of up to £70.

Since its introduction, parents have paid out £30,442, with 813 fines issued between September 1, 2017 and August 31 this year.

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, Dudley Council's cabinet member for environmental, highways and street services, said the safety of children walking to and from school is of "highest priority" for authority.

Fines were also handed out near Blowers Green Primary School, on Blowers Green Road, and Netherton Primary School on Highbridge Road.

The spy car was also kept busy outside Castle High School in St James Road.

Councillor Shakespeare said: "The safety of children walking to and from school is of the highest priority for the council.

"Although a majority of motorists park responsibly, there are some that continue to park illegally and put the lives of our children at risk.

“The zig zag lines are there for a reason, so children can see and be seen when going to and from school, and we will continue to use the CCTV vehicle on the streets around our schools, to help make them safer.”

The vehicle was introduced by Dudley Council at the start of the school term in September 2017, in a bid to improve children’s safety. The move had followed complaints about problem parking outside school gates.

Council officers are then tasked with looking through the video footage in order to catch the perpetrators.

The scheme is self-financing, with any surplus money generated from fines being ring-fenced to go back into the upkeep of the roads in the borough and improving road safety.

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