Cross-border drivers' £1.1m bill

18,898 parking tickets issued to cars registered in the south were unpaid

Drivers from the Republic of Ireland have chalked up nearly 20,000 unpaid fines in Northern Ireland, says the Department of Regional Development.

About 18,898 fines are unpaid which amounts to an estimated bill of £1.1m.

As the value of sterling falls and more people from the Republic come to shop in Northern Ireland, fines have soared.

However, last week government estimates suggested that shoppers from the Republic of Ireland had spent £500m in Northern Ireland in the last year.

In May, figures revealed that 12,000 people from the Republic of Ireland owed parking fines, now that total is closer to 20,000.

A spokesperson from the Roads Service said they could not access details for vehicles from the Republic of Ireland.

Roads Service has been working with the vehicle licensing authorities on both sides of the border to try and resolve this matter," he said.

The figures were released in response to an assembly question from Simon Hamilton, DUP.