A single seafront street that raked in £100,000 in parking tickets has been named one of the most lucrative for councils in the country.

Almost 11 tickets a day were handed out in Madeira Drive, Brighton, last year bringing in fines worth a staggering £100,225.

It has now been revealed to be the third highest money-maker in the country outside of London.

Madeira Drive was only beaten by the High Street in Slough, which brought in £217,506, and Alum Rock Road, in Birmingham, which raked in £154,780.

Steve Percy, of People’s Parking Protest, said Madeira Drive is the “fattest cash cow” in the city.

He said: “It is an awful lot of money. People that park illegally can’t complain and should not complain.

“Some of these will be parking on single yellow or double yellow lines or overstaying.

“But also maybe the council is not looking after the tourists enough.

“All parking is a cash cow but that is probably the fattest cash cow there is.”

There are 363 Pay and Display bays along Madeira Drive.

Brighton and Hove City Council bosses recently caused controversy by upping the daily parking tariff on the road from £10 to £20.

New tariff

Following a public outcry and backing for our Park The Charges campaign, the local authority plans to introduce a new eight-hour tariff for £15 in the seafront high zone – which should come into force before August.

The council said the number of fares have dropped in recent years from 168,000 in 2004 to 109,000 last year.

However, Brighton and Hove residents should count themselves lucky that wardens in the city are not as busy as their counterparts in the capital.

A Freedom of Information request by a national newspaper revealed that Southampton Road in London saw £1,198,870 worth of fines issued by wardens and CCTV cameras.

A council spokeswoman said: “Madeira Drive is a very long road with 363 Pay and Display bays that are in very high demand due to their location on the seafront.

“The vast majority of motorists park correctly in Madeira Drive and do not receive a Penalty Charge Notice.

“In fact the number of Penalty Charge Notices issued in Brighton and Hove has fallen year on year. In the latest annual parking report just 109,000 were issued, down from a peak in 2004 of 168,000.

“This shows that drivers are getting used to the Controlled Parking Zones which is helping to keep traffic moving.”