150,000 parking tickets

The five-fold increase, which is the equivalent of 413 fines a day, has prompted critics to accuse the county council of using staff who began work yesterday to make money.

The number of tickets issued across the county could rise to around 200,000 when wardens also take to the streets of Blackburn with Darwen as part of a separate scheme next month.

Lancashire County Council today insisted the figure was merely a guide based on what they expected to happen when the 90 wardens began patrols.

If it is correct, council bosses will receive between £4.5million and £13.5million in fines, depending on how quickly people pay.

The service is run throughout 12 districts, including Hyndburn, Burnley, Rossendale, Pendle and Chorley, by parking firm NCP, which has caused controversy with its warden rewards schemes in other areas.

Ribble Valley Council is employing its own NCP-trained wardens as part of the same scheme.

The estimate for parking tickets is up from 30,000 - the number issued by the police in an average year before they handed over control of the service.

But a spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "It certainly isn't a target - it is just what we expect, having looked at the number of regulations in force in Lancashire and the number of people breaking them.

"It is up to individual borough councils to decide how many staff to employ for any one week and where to target them.

"But we do expect the number of tickets issued to rise significantly because the number of wardens employed via ParkWise is a massive increase on the police numbers before."

He added that consultants had predicted the scheme would result in the council just about covering its costs. Any surplus it makes, it can keep for highways and environment projects.

Kevin Delaney, traffic manager of the RAC Foundation, said: "What Lancashire County Council has done highlights one of the biggest problems with decriminalised parking.

"Police traffic wardens might well have gone up to someone who was about to parking illegally and said, 'You will get a ticket if you park there.'

"But council-employed attendants, who have to fulfil targets, will tend to let someone park there and them give them a ticket.

"There may be enough illegal parking in Lancashire to issue 150,000 tickets.

"But what tends to happen is that they do relatively well in the first year, but find it harder in the second year.

"Therefore, if an attendant has to issue ten tickets a day and has only issued six with time running out on his shift, he will start giving fines for not displaying tickets correctly.

"Clearly if they don't issue enough tickets, NCP won't make any money."

Nigel Evans, MP for the Ribble Valley, said: "I fear the Government will look at Lancashire, see it can raise money this way, and reduce the amount it offers elsewhere.

"That would force the county to raise even more money from hitting drivers."

Greg Pope, MP for Hyndburn, said: "It is important these wardens are seen to be fair and not just waiting to pounce on people, as is the problem elsewhere."

Fines begin at £30 if the ticket is paid within two weeks, rising to £90 if not paid within a month.

Tens of thousands of tickets are also expected to be issued in Blackburn with Darwen when its new wardens begin work next month.

According to figures published last year, the council needs to raise £642,000 a year in fines to cover the costs of its service - and estimates that 100 tickets a day would cover its costs.