Wyre Council received nearly £45,000 in parking charges last year

Across Wyre town centres in 2020, Cleveleys brought in the highest amount of revenue through parking charge notices (PCNs) at £24,691 - over half of the total revenue from the entire borough.

Knott End brought in the lowest revenue in fines last year, at just £160.

In total, £69,106 was issued, but £16,530 worth of total fines were successfully cancelled.

Some £8,439 in outstanding fines is still owed, Wyre Council said, resulting in the local authority receiving a total of £44,127 in revenue through PCNs last year.

How much money did Wyre Council receive from PCNs in each Wyre town during 2020?

- Fleetwood: £7,953

- Cleveleys: £24,691

- Poulton: £9,147

- Thornton: £423

- Garstang: £1,703

- Knott End: £160

Nine of the 10 local authorities taking in the most cash from parking fines last year were in Greater London, with each council collecting more than £4 million in revenue.

Outside of London, Glasgow and Birmingham were the local authorities most likely to issue a ticket.

On average, local authorities issued nearly 23,000 parking fines at a rate of 63 per day.

Dan Hutson, head of motor at comparethemarket.com, said: "Parking fine revenues are a cash cow for many local authorities. Up and down the country drivers are regularly being caught out by tight parking restrictions.

"With the third lockdown now in place, we would encourage drivers to take extra care and attention when parking up their car to ensure they avoid a parking fine."

The coronavirus pandemic was thought to have had an impact on parking revenue across the UK, with income from car parks in neighbouring Blackpool falling by around £1.1m between April and September last year.

Blackpool Council received significantly more money through fines than Wyre last year, raking in £506,359 in parking charges.

During the first lockdown in April, Wyre recorded its lowest number of revenue from PCNs across the borough at just £966 - increasing gradually each month until August, when it spiked to £11,819.

Wyre Council also runs a permit scheme, which allows permit holders up to three hours of free parking in some car parks for the cost of £30 per year.

The permits are valid for two years, and can be used in the following car parks:

> Derby Road East, Cleveleys

> Derby Road West, Cleveleys

> Jubilee Gardens, Cleveleys

> Custom House Lane, Fleetwood

> Albert Street, Fleetwood

> High Street, Garstang

> Wheatsheaf Way, Poulton

A spokesman for Wyre Council said: "The council does not profit from parking charge notices. The funds are put directly back into improving our car parking facilities.

"Over the last five years we have resurfaced car parks, provided improved payment options on pay and display car parks, improved lighting and general facilities - whilst keeping the majority of the borough's car parks free to use, with the lowest parking fees on our town centre car parks when compared with our neighbouring authorities."