ALMOST 200,000 motorists were hit with parking fines last year in Glasgow raising £6million in revenue.

New figures published today by the Scottish Executive show city parking wardens raked in £500,000 more from drivers compared to £5.5m raised a year earlier.

In total 545,900 fixed penalty charges were dished out last year in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth and South Lanarkshire.

Glasgow's 193,850 fixed penalty notices - almost 5000 more than the previous year - amounted to more than 35% of the total fines issued.

Much of the cash raised by fines came from Glasgow City Council's unpopular parking schemes in the West End and City Centre and motoring groups today blasted the amount of cash they generated.

Neil Greig, head of policy at the IAM Motoring Trust said: "These figures are worrying. They show more money is being made but where's the evidence that it's helping people get parked in Glasgow?

"These figures just make people think that it's all about making money."

The number of tickets issued in Glasgow, however, was not as high as in Edinburgh which issued 243,468 parking tickets raising £7.2m.

South Lanarkshire Council issued 14,631 parking fines boosting the authority's coffers by £500,000.

Motorists who are caught parking illegally are fined £30, which increases to £60 if not paid within 14 days.

In Glasgow 68% of tickets were paid, 20% written off and 12% are still outstanding.

A total of 4747 cars were towed away in the last year.

Retrieving a vehicle from the council vehicle pound costs £135 for the first 24 hours, which includes the £30 cost of the parking ticket.

A further £12 a day is charged for storing the car.

Across Scotland, the total raised from parking tickets and towing away illegally parked cars rose from £14.4m in 2004/5 to £16.9m in 2005/06.

The statistics, published by the Scottish Executive, showed parking fines were on the rise, in part due to schemes its claimed will reduce congestion.

The City Council today defended the number of fines. A spokeswoman said: "Parking enforcement is vital to keep the free flowing movement of traffic and make Glasgow accessible for shoppers and visitors."