A record 2.7 million parking tickets from private companies were issued between April and June this year, analysis of DVLA figures by the Press Association reveal.

This equates to 30,000 tickets slapped on drivers’ windscreens every day, with the cost of fines at £100 each.

More than 170 parking firms requested vehicle owner records from the DVLA in the three months to June as they attempted to bill drivers for parking breaches.

PA revealed ParkingEye was the most prolific, buying 521,000 driver records, at a cost of £2.50 a pop.

The DVLA said it doesn’t make a profit on this, with the fee covering its costs.

The figures are up from 1.8 million in the same period last year, and up from the 1.5 million in 2018 and 2.1 million in 2019.

If parking tickets continue at the same pace, it could mean 10.8 million could be issued annually.

‘Booming yet broken system’

Charity group The RAC Foundation suggested it is “inconceivable” that so many drivers are parking illegally.

Steve Gooding, said of the “booming” sector: “Over the past decade, the number of tickets being issued to drivers on private land has jumped from less than two million annually to probably near 11 million this year.

“This is big business which is seeing more entrants all the time.

“The attraction can only be one thing – the chance to make significant profits before the Government brings in changes – which now appear delayed – to level the playing field.

“It remains inconceivable that, annually, millions of motorists are setting out to run up these tickets of up to £100 each, especially when household budgets are so tight.

“This latest data is a sign of a system that is broken. We hope the new ministerial team in charge of this part of public policy will tackle it with renewed vigour.”

The figures come after the Government was forced to withdraw a code of practice for private parking ‘fines’ which set out a cap and the introduction of an appeals system, due to a legal challenge by parking firms.

The code proposals set out in February 2022 follow years of complaints about unfair and extortionate charges, with data at the time revealing private parking firms issue around 22,000 tickets a day.