SWINDON Borough Council raked in 70 per cent more money through parking tickets last year than they did four years ago.

In total, on and off street parking across the borough brought in £3.3 million profit last year compared with just £1.9 million in 2012.

Across the country, the average increase over the same period was just 34 per cent.

The council’s earning potential from parking is likely to rise further still following the introduction of charges at Lydiard Park and Coate Water earlier this year.

Figures released earlier this month show that the revenue from the two sites in the peak period between July and October was between £250,000 and £300,000.

Modelling suggests that across a whole year that should rise to £400,000.

Such is the level of success seen at Lydiard and Coate that the cabinet has agreed to launch a consultation with a view to extending the scheme to Stanton Country Park from 2017.

It would be expected to generate between £25,000 and £35,000 per year.

Similar extensions were considered for Barbury Castle, Moulden Hill and Shaw Forest but those sites were deemed unsuitable.

It is not known how much of the £3.3 million is generated through the issuing of fixed penalty notices for parking unlawfully in council controlled areas.

Local authorities are required by government to set two penalty bands to be used depending on the seriousness of the violation.

In Swindon, these are set at £70 for significant rule breaches and £50 for those which are seen as less significant.

If paid in a timely manner, these penalties can be reduced to £35 and £25 respectively.

A spokesman for Swindon Borough Council said: ““Any revenue raised by Parking Services is ploughed back into transport-related projects in Swindon.

“Parking enforcement is not regarded as a money-making exercise and, in fact, there is clear guidance from central government to local authorities that it should not be seen as such.

“There are many reasons why we have parking regulations. These include improving the movement of traffic, pedestrians and cyclists; improving road safety; and improving the quality and accessibility or public transport.

“Tickets are only issued to drivers who park illegally and a well-established and independent appeals process is available to anyone who wants to challenge why they were given a ticket.”

Steve Gooding, Director of the RAC Foundation, said: “These numbers might seem eye-wateringly large, but the good news is that any profit generated by councils from on-street parking must, by law, be spent on transport-related activities.”