TRAFFIC wardens in Southampton handed drivers tens of thousands of parking tickets last year, raising more than £1.2m for city coffers.

City wardens issued 46,398 tickets to motorists in 2003 - the 16th highest number of any local authority in Britain.

In Winchester, wardens issued 20,297 tickets in 2003 - a slight fall from the 20,888 tickets which were given to drivers in 2002.

The figures come from the National Parking Adjudication Service - a government watchdog which looks at the performance of the 68 local authorities who have "decriminalised" parking offences.

Councils which decriminalise parking take over the role of issuing parking tickets on double yellow lines from the police.

They also issue tickets to drivers who outstay their welcomes in city-run car parks.

A Southampton City Council spokesman said: "The idea is that the service is self-funding. We don't do it to make a profit. We do it to keep the traffic free-flowing. We don't want the cost of running the service to fall on the council tax payer."

Highways bosses decriminalised parking on double yellow lines in Southampton in April 2002. The figures released today provide the first accurate picture of how many parking tickets have been issued by the city's 38 wardens over the past year.