�Motorists in Upminster were issued with 2.508 parking tickets by the CCTV smart car in the last five months, according to latest figures.

The figures, which were revealed as part of a Freedom of Information request show that more penalty notices were issued in Upminster by the camera cars from April 1 to September 1, than in any other part of the borough.

Upminster ward Cllr Linda Van Den Hende (RA) said: “It doesn’t surprise me because I live in Upminster and I do see the CCTV smart car there all the time. It always struck me that if the CCTV smart car is in Upminster then it can’t have much time to go anywhere else.”

The second highest number of parking tickets generated by the cars was in Romford where motorists were given 1,681 tickets, followed by Harold Hill with 1,152.

Drivers in Havering-atte-Bower were issued with just two parking tickets by the smart car, the lowest in Havering.

The Freedom of Information request was put in by Upminster resident Simon Winter who says that he was fed up of seeing the car in Upminster High Street.

He said: “I do believe that if people park illegally they should be fined, but the number of tickets issued by the car in Upminster in comparison to other areas in Havering is disproportionate.”

The Freedom of Information request also shows the number of parking tickets given to motorists by hand-held cameras by parking enforcement officers from April 1 to September 1 this year. Motorists in Romford were given 3,613 parking tickets by the enforcement officers, the highest in the borough, followed by Hornchurch with 1,170 tickets. The figures show that Noak Hill were issued with no parking tickets during the period by parking enforcement officers.

Councillor Barry Tebbutt, Cabinet Member for Environment said: “If we catch people parking illegally they may be fined, no matter whereabouts in the borough they park.”

“Parking or stopping illegally, even for a few moments, can be dangerous as well as obstructive to other drivers and cause delays. Our CCTV cars and Civil Enforcement Officers work across the borough and no area or person is targeted. We are the third lowest issuer of notices across London.”