City rings up £6m from cost of car parking

DRIVERS are spending £6 million a year to park their cars in Edinburgh, it was reported today.

Motoring organisations have hit out at the high car parking fees across the UK, with the AA branding the figures "disgusting".

Hugh Bladen, a founder member of the Association of British Drivers, even said the high charges for parking were affecting the economy.

He said: "The money taken away from motorists for parking in this country is absolutely extraordinary. The more money taken out of the pocket for something as inconsequential as parking, the less is being spent on things which will generate the economy."

The figures showed that Edinburgh's annual revenue from on-street parking meters and car parks is the fifth highest in the UK.

City drivers pay more than three times as much as those in Liverpool or Manchester each year.

The survey found that Westminster City Council had the highest revenue from car parking, with an annual income of £33.3m.