Parking fines 'on the increase'

More than 20.4bn miles are driven in London each year

The number of Londoners caught flouting parking restrictions is continuing to rise, new figures show.

London Councils revealed more than 5 million parking tickets were issued between April 2006 and March 2007 - a 2.7% increase on the previous year.

However the number of people straying into London's bus lanes significantly reduced, falling 41% over the last year to 288, 394.

Vehicles driven in London clock-up 20.4bn miles every year.

There were also more than 25,000 fewer vehicles clamped in London, representing a 26% drop.

According to the figures about 1% of all penalties issued in the last year were appealed against, an increase of about 8%, and of those 67% of motorists were successful.