New statistics have revealed areas of Norfolk where people are most likely to be hit with tickets for flouting parking restrictions.
Penalty charge notices are issued by civil enforcement officers to drivers who ignore restrictions, such as by parking yellow lines, not buying pay and display tickets or staying too long in time-limited spaces.
Norwich was where most tickets were issued in 2019/2020, with 25,571 - 16,507 for higher level contraventions and 9,064 for lower level infringements.
Almost 2,000 were cancelled after representations, but the 18,245 paid totalled more than £700,000.
Great Yarmouth was the second most likely place to get a ticket, with just over 7,500 issued. More than 600 were later cancelled, but almost £240,000 was paid by almost 4,000 drivers.
Next was King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, where about 5,500 tickets were issued. More than 500 were cancelled, but more than 4,200 paid.
Defective signs and lines can lead to parking restrictions being unenforceable and a check in King’s Lynn in April found there were 64 such defects.
More than 3,300 tickets were issued in Broadland, with some 2,800 paid and 227 cancelled, while Breckland issued just over 2,000. Almost 1,500 were paid and 121 cancelled.
Almost 770 were issued in South Norfolk, with 641 paid and just over 50 cancelled. In North Norfolk, just 273 were issued, with 232 paid and 26 cancelled.
They range from £25 to £105, depending on the seriousness of the infringement and how quickly they are paid. While drivers can challenge them, some are also written off if the driver is not traceable or an error was made.
However, the Norfolk Parking Partnership is facing a £1m shortfall next year, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Enforcement stopped in lockdown and resumed in June.
A spokeswoman for Norfolk County Council said: “The council has submitted a claim to the government for the financial losses incurred by the Covid-19 lockdown measures.
“While we do not yet know what our final grant settlement will be, it will likely make up some of the shortfall. The council will be managing service delivery costs, working with partners to create efficiencies, but does not expect to reduce the current level of parking enforcement.”
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