Waltham Forest Council has made a profit of almost £100,000 in less than two years by cracking down on parking fine dodgers.

The council was one of the first in London to adopt new powers earlier this year allowing them to clamp ticket-dodgers even if they were outside the borough.

Since adopting the new powers in January, the council has impounded 376 vehicles parked outside the borough, scrapped 80 and sold 30 in order to pursue unpaid fines.

Since the start of 2019, £168,307 of unpaid fines have been collected from persistent ticket-dodgers, which left a profit of £95,617 to be spent on improving neighbourhoods.

Read more: Waltham Forest Council will clamp ticket-dodgers even if outside borough

Deputy leader Cllr Clyde Loakes said: “I am proud that Waltham Forest is leading the way in cracking down on persistent evaders who seem to think that the rules of the road do not apply to them.

“People who attempt to dodge fines are likely to cut other corners – their vehicles may not be properly maintained, for example.

“It is only fair to the vast majority of road users who treat others with care and respect that we take action against those who feel the rules do not apply to them.”

Other than the borough itself, Waltham Forest ticket-dodgers were most commonly found in Redbridge, Barking & Dagenham and Enfield.

Last year, officers pursuing ticket-dodgers claimed £86,922 in unpaid fines, leaving £52,797 to go towards neighbourhood improvements.

So far this year, £81,385 in fines has been collected from more than 300 drivers, leaving a profit of £42,820 after paying for the service itself.

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