MOTORISTS on Merseyside paid out more than £8.4m in parking fines in the last two years, it has been revealed.

New data shows Liverpool city council brought in £4,368,652 between 2007 and 2009, more than double the sum brought in by Wirral council in the same period.

In the same period, Knowsley council earned just £27,991 from giving fines to illegal parkers, because it has not decriminalised parking and can only impose fines on those using council-run car parks.

All other parking offences are ticketed and the income pocketed by the police.

St Helens council saw its income rise from just £8,173 to £63,270 in the same period.

The figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act also show that, while Sefton and Wirral have seen a decrease in fine revenue in the last year, Liverpool city council has driven up its penalty income by £440,000, inviting criticism from lobby groups that motorists were being used as “cash cows”.

But Liverpool city council leader Cllr Warren Bradley defended the income.

He said: “I always stick by if you park illegally you get fined, and if you don’t think you’ve parked illegally you can appeal.

“We’ve got parking attendants doing a reasonable job around the city and the number of people appealing or winning appeals has reduced.”