Third of parking penalties in London are ‘ghost tickets’ based on CCTV

Drivers in London are being increasingly hit with "ghost" parking tickets as fines issued based on CCTV evidence now account for up to one in three penalties.

Instead of having to send out traffic wardens, most councils — 24 out of 33 — and Transport for London now have the powers to record footage of cars if they stop on double-yellow lines, on box junctions or outside schools.

Anyone caught is then sent a fine of up to £120 in the post, which arrives at their home around two weeks later.

Two more councils are awaiting clearance from the Department for Transport to do the same thing.

Nearly six million penalty charge notices were issued in London last year and in some boroughs a third were based on CCTV footage.

Motoring groups today warned that the number of drivers caught by CCTV would rise further because it is much cheaper to catch people using cameras. They also claimed that the system was there simply to make money.

Edmund King, president of the AA, said: "CCTV enforcement is done on an industrial scale. We regard them as ghost tickets, because drivers are unaware of their alleged offence for some time afterwards. They are very hard to challenge as drivers are in no position to check signs or if the ticket was issued by mistake.

"An officer can deter people from parking illegally — all a camera does is raise cash."

A spokesman for London Councils, which represents local authorities, said: "Boroughs do not have the resources to monitor every street with officers.

"CCTV allows them to enforce contraventions, keeping streets clear and maintaining traffic flow."