MOTORISTS using one of Scotland's busiest shopping streets last year paid about GBP600,000 in parking fines.
More than 21,000 tickets were dished out by parking attendants in Edinburgh's George Street, at GBP30 a time.
A spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council said: "George Street is one of our busiest streets and has the most pay-and-display machines in Edinburgh.
"The number of tickets there is so high because it is central and people find it convenient to park there to access shops and facilities in the city centre, so more people are being caught without a ticket there." But Sue Nicholson, of the RAC Foundation, insisted that the city was in danger of sending out an anticar message.
She said: "If last year George Street was the most ticketed street in Scotland, I wonder if it is now the most ticketed street in Britain?
"Whether it is more people parking illegally, which we don't condone, or that the parking wardens are working harder, I don't know.
"But obviously, if Edinburgh wants to avoid sending out the message to people that it is anti-car, it needs to make some provision for people who want to drive in the city centre."
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