Motorists paid out a record £1.4 billion in parking charges to councils in England and were hit by almost £1 million per day in parking fines. In total car owners forked out £160,000 every hour to town halls  for parking permits, fines, pay-and-display tickets, and other parking charges. The haul includes a staggering £343million in parking tickets. The new figures show that local authorities made a record profit last year of £546million from parking. Motorists paid out £1 million per day in parking fines, Government figures revealed . The figures from Government do not include what  motorists also paid to park in privately run car parks, so the real impact on drivers would be even higher. Eric Pickles, the Government's Communities Secretary warned councils not to treat motorists as 'cash cows', but it would appear the plea has been ignored by town halls. Last year's total parking income haul of £1.409billion was a rise of 1.5percent on the £1.389billion that English councils brought in during the previous 12 months. However, parking fines were down to £343million from £353 million the previous year. An AA spokesman said: 'Looking at these figures it seems clear that the local authority parking gravy train is still running full steam with parking profits up on last year. 'Local authorities continue to squeeze every penny they can from drivers when it comes to parking charges. The total parking haul of £1.4billion was a rise of 1.5 per cent on the amount brought in during the previous 12 months . 'This is despite the fact that town centres are battling with one another and on-line shopping to attract trade especially at this time of year. 'Far from easing off on charges many authorities now charge well into the evening and on Sundays deterring many with money in their pocket from visiting some town centres. 'Hopefully some councils may shed their Scrooge like image this Christmas by giving drivers a break with some free parking to bump up local trade - but make no mistake it may be short-term with civil enforcement officers back on the street to enjoy a post Christmas sale parking ticket bonanza!' Of the 20 local authorities that made the most income from parking a total of 13 of them come from London. Westminster Council hauled in a total of almost £81million last year, way ahead of its nearest rival. Outside the capital the places that hit the motorist the hardest are Brighton and Hove, Nottingham Birmingham, Manchester and Cornwall. London councils that collect the most money from parking: . 1. Westminster (£80.6m) 2. Kensington & Chelsea (£47.1m) 3. Camden (£38.8) 4. Hammersmith & Fulham (£34.7m) 5. Wandsworth (£29.6m) 6. Islington (£25.7m) 7. Lambeth (£24.7m) 8. Ealing (£18.9m) 9. Hackney (£18.6m) 10. Haringey (£16.3m) Outside the capital the councils that raised the most from parking: . 1. Brighton and Hove (£25.8m) 2. Nottingham City (£18.9m) 3. Birmingham (£18.3m) 4. Manchester (£14.8m) 5. Cornwall (£14.3m) 6. Newcastle (£14.3m) 7. Bristol (£13.3m) 8. Leeds (£12.6m) 9. Milton Keynes (£11.4m) 10. Guildford (£11.1m) John O'Connell, Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Drivers are already hit hard by everything from fuel duty to road tax, and profiteering Councils taking them for a ride with too-high parking charges will rub salt in the wound. 'Councils should use parking charges purely as a way of funding the maintenance and upkeep of car parks and streets. Local authorities can't use hard-pressed motorists who rely on their cars as a way to fill the coffers, but must instead focus on eliminating waste in other areas.' Cllr Peter Box, Transport Spokesman at the Local Government Association, said: 'These figures prove that councils remain on the side of hard-pressed motorists with parking fines going down and total parking income staying below the rate of inflation over the past 12 months. 'The reality is that the average motorist is paying 30 times more to Whitehall in charges and taxation each year than they do to their town hall through parking. 'Parking charges and fines are essential to help councils keep traffic flowing and pedestrians and motorists safe. On-street parking revenue is spent on paying for parking services. Any surplus is spent on essential transport projects, such as talking the £12 billion roads repair backlog and providing subsidised travel to elderly and disabled residents.'
Motorists paid a record £1.4 billion in parking charges to local councils .
Drivers were slapped with £1 million worth of parking fines per day .
The income haul was a rise of 1.5 per cent on previous year .
Westminster Council collected £81million last year from motorists .
Outside of the capital Brighton and Hove council collected £25.8 million .
Motorists paid out a record £1.4 billion in parking charges to councils in England and were hit by almost £1 million per day in parking fines. In total car owners forked out £160,000 every hour to town halls  for parking permits, fines, pay-and-display tickets, and other parking charges. The haul includes a staggering £343million in parking tickets. The new figures show that local authorities made a record profit last year of £546million from parking. Motorists paid out £1 million per day in parking fines, Government figures revealed . The figures from Government do not include what  motorists also paid to park in privately run car parks, so the real impact on drivers would be even higher. Eric Pickles, the Government's Communities Secretary warned councils not to treat motorists as 'cash cows', but it would appear the plea has been ignored by town halls. Last year's total parking income haul of £1.409billion was a rise of 1.5percent on the £1.389billion that English councils brought in during the previous 12 months. However, parking fines were down to £343million from £353 million the previous year. An AA spokesman said: 'Looking at these figures it seems clear that the local authority parking gravy train is still running full steam with parking profits up on last year. 'Local authorities continue to squeeze every penny they can from drivers when it comes to parking charges. The total parking haul of £1.4billion was a rise of 1.5 per cent on the amount brought in during the previous 12 months . 'This is despite the fact that town centres are battling with one another and on-line shopping to attract trade especially at this time of year. 'Far from easing off on charges many authorities now charge well into the evening and on Sundays deterring many with money in their pocket from visiting some town centres. 'Hopefully some councils may shed their Scrooge like image this Christmas by giving drivers a break with some free parking to bump up local trade - but make no mistake it may be short-term with civil enforcement officers back on the street to enjoy a post Christmas sale parking ticket bonanza!' Of the 20 local authorities that made the most income from parking a total of 13 of them come from London. Westminster Council hauled in a total of almost £81million last year, way ahead of its nearest rival. Outside the capital the places that hit the motorist the hardest are Brighton and Hove, Nottingham Birmingham, Manchester and Cornwall. London councils that collect the most money from parking: . 1. Westminster (£80.6m) 2. Kensington & Chelsea (£47.1m) 3. Camden (£38.8) 4. Hammersmith & Fulham (£34.7m) 5. Wandsworth (£29.6m) 6. Islington (£25.7m) 7. Lambeth (£24.7m) 8. Ealing (£18.9m) 9. Hackney (£18.6m) 10. Haringey (£16.3m) Outside the capital the councils that raised the most from parking: . 1. Brighton and Hove (£25.8m) 2. Nottingham City (£18.9m) 3. Birmingham (£18.3m) 4. Manchester (£14.8m) 5. Cornwall (£14.3m) 6. Newcastle (£14.3m) 7. Bristol (£13.3m) 8. Leeds (£12.6m) 9. Milton Keynes (£11.4m) 10. Guildford (£11.1m) John O'Connell, Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Drivers are already hit hard by everything from fuel duty to road tax, and profiteering Councils taking them for a ride with too-high parking charges will rub salt in the wound. 'Councils should use parking charges purely as a way of funding the maintenance and upkeep of car parks and streets. Local authorities can't use hard-pressed motorists who rely on their cars as a way to fill the coffers, but must instead focus on eliminating waste in other areas.' Cllr Peter Box, Transport Spokesman at the Local Government Association, said: 'These figures prove that councils remain on the side of hard-pressed motorists with parking fines going down and total parking income staying below the rate of inflation over the past 12 months. 'The reality is that the average motorist is paying 30 times more to Whitehall in charges and taxation each year than they do to their town hall through parking. 'Parking charges and fines are essential to help councils keep traffic flowing and pedestrians and motorists safe. On-street parking revenue is spent on paying for parking services. Any surplus is spent on essential transport projects, such as talking the £12 billion roads repair backlog and providing subsidised travel to elderly and disabled residents.'
Motorists paid out a record £1.4 billion in parking charges to councils in England and were last year of £546million from parking. Motorists paid out £1 million per day in parking fines, income haul of £1.409billion was a rise of was a rise of 1.5 per cent on the amount brought the motorist the hardest are Brighton and Hove,