COUNCILS could use extra funds raised through 'stealth tax' parking fines to keep council tax bills down, it was revealed today.

A new army of 100 traffic wardens will hit the streets from September, when a partnership of Lancashire County Council and local authorities takes control of parking enforcement from police.

And Lancashire County Council today said money raised from the £60-a-time fines on top of the scheme's operating costs could help keep council tax down.

MPs and motoring organisations today agreed that local politicians could use the extra revenue as way of keeping tax increases down in election year - but said it went against the original purpose of traffic wardens.

Parking fines on designated car parks will increase to £60 from £30 as part of the scheme.

Under the new decriminalisation of parking, due to begin in Lancashire in September, civilian wardens, either employed by private car parking firm NCP or directly by councils, will patrol streets and car parks.

Fines raised from breaches of on-street parking, such as parking on yellow lines, will be used to pay for things such as highways and environmental improvements by Lancashire County Council.

And cash raised from penalties incurred on car parks, for example not buying a pay-and-display ticket, will be given to borough councils to use in any way they like.

This already happens, as borough councils own many of the car parks in East Lancashire, but the doubling of fines and an increase in the number of wardens could mean a massive cash injection.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council today said: "Money surplus to operating costs will help to keep council tax down because it adds to the income received by the councils.

"It can then be used to benefit everyone living in, working in and visiting the area."

Burnley's Conservative leader Coun Peter Doyle said: "The scheme must not be used for the wrong purposes and nobody wants to see it used blatantly to reduce council tax."

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans has also criticised the idea. He said: "This is a complete recipe for disaster.

"All it takes is for councillors in election year to decide that a low council tax rise is a vote winner, and then they will insist more cars are ticketed to get more money elsewhere.

"The Government, already starving Lancashire councils of cash, might see this extra money coming in and offer even less in future."

But Burnley MP Peter Pike added: "At the moment parking isn't being enforced in Burnley because the county hasn't taken over and the old system is finished.

"People want to see parking regulations properly enforced and if that means council tax goes down, all the better."

However, a spokesman for the RAC Foundation said: "This takes away the principle of traffic wardens being used to keep traffic moving and turns them into stealth-tax gatherers."