LOCAL drivers paid more than £4.5m in car parking charges to Herefordshire Council during the last financial year, a freedom of information request has revealed.

The county council made £4,229,946 in off-street car parks and £274,532 in on-street parking tariffs during 2018/2019.

The local authority issued a total of 23,015 penalty charge notices during that period.

And they collected £642,674 from those fines.

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said they had lost a significant amount of funding from central government and parking charges are needed to maintain services.

"To help maintain the standard of the services we provide for Herefordshire it is necessary to consider all sources of income, including parking charges," he said.

“Although charges are primarily intended to manage demand across our car parks, revenue gained from car parking fees supports the council investment in transport across Herefordshire, including providing public transport, winter maintenance on our roads and public spaces, and improving safety across our highways network.

“We plan to review our policy and consider how we can best support our local communities, businesses and town centres.”