Councils owed £1.5m in unpaid parking fines
Councils in the region are owed around £1.5 million in unpaid parking fines dating back almost three years.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that councils are still chasing some drivers for fines they were given in 2010.
It comes as councils have been drawing up budget savings worth tens of millions of pounds and slashing jobs in the wake of swingeing cuts to their funding.
In Sandwell, 11,831 parking fines from 2010 to 2012 remained unpaid at the end of last year, with 1,443 of them now in the hands of bailiffs.
It has left the council, which charged between £50 and £70 for flouting parking rules, at least £591,550 out of pocket.
Sandwell's finance councillor Steve Eling said: "People who haven't paid their fines run the risk of paying even more.
"These fines are not written off and we will pursue them through the courts and with bailiffs if necessary. As well as the possibility of paying potentially hundreds of pounds, parking fine debtors also risk not being able to get credit if there is action being taken against them."
Walsall is the next most cash-strapped authority when it comes to chasing unpaid fines. At the end of 2012 it was still owed £417,395 by drivers.
Wolverhampton is still chasing £134,900 and the city council's deputy leader Councillor Peter Bilson said: "We do not make money as a council from penalty charge notices. Any surplus that is generated would be re-invested in the highway network to the benefit of motorists."
Dudley Council is trying to get £91,790 back and Wyre Forest District Council has £66,768 outstanding. Meanwhile, Lichfield District Council is short of £49,157, Stafford Borough Council is chasing £141,355 and South Staffordshire District Council is trying to get back £16,300 in unpaid fines.
