HUNDREDS of residents thought to be illegally using out-of-date parking permits are being asked to hand them in during a month’s amnesty.

Residents in possession of parking permits for zones where they no longer live are invited to hand them in and avoid a potential court prosecution.

It is believed that up to 540 invalid permits could be in use by drivers around the city to avoid paying for parking.

It is estimated the problem is costing the council about £190,000-a-year in lost revenue.

In order to tackle the issue, the city council’s Labour administration is asking residents who are benefiting from permits they are no longer entitled to use to hand them back for cancellation with no questions asked during August.

Invalid parking permits include permits bought for an address and parking zone which residents later move away from before the permit expires.

A similar fortnight-long amnesty on fraudulent blue badges in the city run last summer saw 31 offenders hand in permits for disabled parking they were not legally entitled to.

Residents are being asked to either post the permit back to the council or hand it in to parking services staff in the customer service centre at Hove Town Hall where there is also a special permit drop box.

Council officers have warned residents that it is fraudulent to use any kind of parking permit that they are not entitled to and could end in a court appearance.

A sample audit in the city has shown that around two per cent of the 27,000 permits in circulation in the city are possibly fraudulent.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, chairwoman of the city’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “Brighton and Hove has had considerable success in dealing with Blue Badge fraud and we are keen to see that other types of parking permits are not being misused.

"We have 27,000 resident permits on issue so making sure that they are going to the right people will ensure residents can park more easily near to their homes and will free up waiting lists.”

Council officers have warned that anyone found using permits fraudulently following the amnesty could face prosecution.

The council is continuing to cross-check records and from September will introduce automatic online checks as well as new forms warning people that the council will take action against people using parking permits fraudulently.