Another 20 councils launch 'cash cow' spy cars that film motorists breaking road laws AFTER they were told the government is planning to make them illegal
By Dan BloomMinisters say the 100-plus CCTV cars fleece motorists on 'industrial scale'
The cars automatically catch drivers breaking traffic rules as they pass
Eric Pickles vowed to outlaw them - but more keep hitting the streets
Councils with new spy cars include Manchester, eighth-biggest in Britain
The 'cash cow' fines were worth £30 million in the last year aloneTown hall chiefs are defying the government and launching CCTV spy cars even after they were told the 'cash cows' will be made illegal, MailOnline can reveal.
Local government secretary Eric Pickles has announced he will ban the controversial vehicles, which film people breaking traffic rules and send them fines of up to £130 in the post.
Yet since his pledge in September, 20 authorities - including one of the country's biggest, Manchester City Council - have either introduced a new spy car regime or have firm plans to do so.
Another 38 councils have had meetings about the controversial technology in the last year, and have yet to reveal if they will introduce it.
About a fifth of authorities in England and Wales now use CCTV cars despite complaints by motorists, ministers and civil liberties groups.
They handed drivers more than 340,000 fines worth at least £30 million in the last year.
Yet of the 2,500 drivers who appealed to an independent tribunal, almost half (44 per cent) won their cases.
Some 697 won outright while another 379 had their cases dropped by the council once they mounted a formal challenge.
Mr Pickles said: 'CCTV spy cars are just an excuse for councils to raise money from issuing parking fines on an industrial scale.
'They undermine natural justice, as car owners receive the fine weeks later in the post making it extremely hard to challenge on appeal. This is why the government has published proposals to ban CCTV being used for parking purposes.
'We are going to rein in the town hall parking bullies.'
MailOnline obtained the figures by sending Freedom of Information requests to 373 councils, of which 296 replied within the legal deadline.
We asked about CCTV car use between November 2012 and October this year, and asked if councils which did not run the technology had held meetings about it or made firm plans to introduce it.
Five authorities - Manchester City Council, Derby City Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council, Slough Borough Council and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council – said they had already launched CCTV cars since Mr Pickles' landmark announcement on September 27.
Another 15 areas had made firm plans to do so, with many claiming they were inundated with requests for CCTV from the public.
Only one of the 15, Rushmoor Borough Council in Hampshire, said it was delaying introducing the cars until the government released firm guidance.
Cllr Kate Chappell, Manchester City Council’s cabinet member for the environment, defended the technology.
She said: 'Parents, teachers and children regularly tell us that illegal parking on roads outside schools is a major problem.
'Despite their efforts to urge people to park more responsibly, a minority of motorists still persist in putting the lives of school children at risk.
'These clearly marked cars have been introduced to improve road safety and protect children and while it is disappointing that Eric Pickles does not share this view, we would be more than happy to meet him and explain why we believe it is important to effectively manage parking outside schools.'
The National Association of Head Teachers also attacked Mr Pickles' pledge.
Policy adviser Sion Humphreys said: 'Parking outside schools can be a big problem. Many drivers take risks to avoid the rush such as ignoring the hatched areas outside or speeding.'
Cllr Peter Box, transport board chairman of the Local Government Association, added: 'CCTV cameras cars account for just two per cent of total council parking income.
'These figures also show that less than one per cent of motorists are appealing fines issued by CCTV enforcement and that when they have grounds for appeal the system works.
'The reality is that the average motorist is paying 30 times more to Whitehall in charges and taxation each year than they do to their town hall through parking.'
Among more than 60 councils which already run CCTV cars, the biggest earner was Bristol City Council - which handed out 27,719 fines worth almost £2 million.
Nick Pickles, director of the anti-CCTV pressure group Big Brother Watch, said many councils ignore strict rules which say CCTV cars must only be used where it is dangerous for a traffic warden to work.
He added: 'The huge numbers of tickets given out in error and later dropped highlights the risk to innocent people of these spy cars.
'When people see the multi-million pound enterprise CCTV cars have become they will rightly be asking if this is less about public safety and more about revenue raising.
'Equally, the high revenues highlight what a lousy deterrent CCTV is – even when it is a blindingly obvious spy car.
'Councils should be working to solve the underlying problems of congestion around schools and understand why so many children arrive by car.'
Just one council in Britain which could introduce CCTV cars has publicly ruled out doing so.
A spokesman for West Dorset District Council said it ran 'contrary to the spirit of fair[ness] and common sense of on-street traffic management.'
It emerged on December 15 that transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has tabled an investigation into CCTV cars with a view to banning them.
The government's changes will also extend the grace period before motorists receive a fine from five minutes to 15.
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: 'We have recently published proposals to ban CCTV for parking.
'Subject to the consultation process, the Government will then amend legislation and associated statutory guidance to deliver on this pledge.'
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