TWENTY motorists are still £60 out of pocket after council bosses failed to repay parking tickets they issued illegally under out-dated laws.

Blackburn with Darwen Council chiefs still have £1,200 in the authority's coffers that has been gained from motorists unlawfully.

Council bosses say they have no means of tracing the people who were issued with the illegal tickets.

The authority realised it was breaching a ruling made by the National Parking Adjudication Service after being informed by the Lancashire Evening Telegraph in September. It admitted that 53 Penalty Charge Notices issued to motorists for parking in Hackney Carriage bays in the past year were illegal. The council now claims 54 tickets were issued.

Over a month later, parking officials claim that nine refunds have been given to motorists who had applied for a refund and 25 tickets were cancelled before any money was collected.

But campaigner Neil Herron, who successfully got thousands of parking fines overturned when he discovered a legal blunder in Sunderland's bylaws, said the council had not done enough to try to pay back the cash.

He said: "That money is an item of unlawful income and if it has entered their accounts, they could be guilty of false accounting."

Coun Andy Kay, executive member for regeneration said: "Twenty of the penalty charge notices have paid but without any details we have been unable to trace the person who the refund is for."

But Conservative councillor for Corporation Park, Paul McGurty, blasted the council who he said had behaved disgracefully. He added: "It is mind-boggling to think this council think they can just keep money obtained by them illegally."