Two Mersey councils have been slammed by civil liberties groups for using controversial surveillance techniques so they can issue people with parking fines.
Liverpool and Wirral councils are under fire over using cars equipped with CCTV cameras to spot parking breaches.
But Big Brother Watch and a Conservative MP said the councils should only use CCTV to protect public safety, not generating income.
Big Brother Watch has called for a national ban on the practice, after nearly 10,000 fines were handed to drivers caught on camera in both areas over the past five years.
Between 2008 and 2013 Wirral council took £239,951 from motorists who were caught flouting restrictions by their CCTV car.
But Liverpool council said the vehicle was used mainly as a deterrent, particularly to people parking outside schools which could put children at risk.
Almost 30 charges were issued every week, totalling 7,513 across the five-year period.
In Liverpool 2,354 penalty charge notices were handed out to drivers between January 2012, when the car was brought in, and March 2013.
These fines raised £11,475 from almost 10 drivers per day who were fined for breaking parking rules.
Conservative MP Nick de Bois, who wrote the foreword to the Big Brother Watch report, said hard up drivers were being hit with unfair fines and urged councils to follow guidelines that said surveillance should only be used for protecting public safety.
He said: “I welcome this research by Big Brother Watch, which highlights that despite this guidance and additional oversight, local authorities are continuing to use CCTV
cameras for means other than public safety.”
He added: “It is important that the public can have faith that CCTV is being used only in those situations where public safety is at risk and there are no less intrusive alternative routes of investigation.”
But councillors have hit back, arguing CCTV is vital for protecting public safety.