Merton Council has raked in an astronomical £1.8m from parking tickets enforced by mobile CCTV vans since they were introduced last year.

In just 14 months five mobile CCTV vans, used by the council to deal with moving traffic offences, have generated penalty charge notices totalling £1,861,470.

Since being introduced in May 2012, the Wimbledon Guardian has received dozens of complaints from residents who have spotted civil enforcement officers (CEO's) parking on double yellow lines and across pavements while ticketing motorists.

CEOs are permitted by law to park where necessary to safely carry out their duties, including on yellow lines and box junctions.

One perturbed resident, who saw a van parked across a pavement on Tuesday at a box junction on London Road in Mitcham, said: "Evidently it is financially viable for the council so they have sent this guy with a camera to film unsuspecting motorists.

"It's a very difficult junction to judge and you can't really see what is coming ahead of you so its quite easy to get stuck in the box.

"It's just money for old rope for the council."

UKIP councillor and leader of Merton Coalition councillors, Suzanne Evans, said: "Motorists are already being milked dry by petrol duty, road tax and astronomical parking fees and while none of us want to see bad or selfish driving on our roads, there's plenty of evidence - much of it unearthed by the Wimbledon Guardian - that there's a significant element of entrapment in mobile CCTV enforcement."

Responding to a question on the issue posed by Merton Coalition councillors on July 10, Councillor Andrew Judge said: "The annual residents' survey in the borough consistently shows that traffic congestion is a major concern of people living in Merton.

"A key part of tackling this issue is to ensure that traffic and parking regulations are properly respected by those who use the borough's roads.

"To undertake this effectively requires the council to have an appropriate and sensible approach to enforcement, with an important element being the use of vehicle based cameras."

In comparison, the controversial bus lane in Hartfield Road generated nearly £500,000 in its first nine months and was branded "cash cow" after it yielded seven times its estimated income.

 

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