Wandsworth Council made more than £20 million in profit from its parking charges and fines last year - one of the largest profits of any local authority in the country.

But the council says the money is being ploughed back into highways improvement as well as free travel for the elderly and disabled.

The RAC Foundation, which carried out the research, calculated the figure by adding together revenue from parking charges and penalty notices with running costs deducted.

A Wandsworth Council spokesman said: “Wandsworth is inner London’s biggest borough with the council responsible for maintaining more than 230 miles of road surface and because it is so busy and vibrant as well as so close to central London, there is great pressure on parking space.

"Any surplus income from parking must, by law, be spent on specified purposes. For instance, improving highways and other transport-related issues.

“These include funding the Freedom Pass scheme for older residents, as well as taxi-cards for disabled people and paying the travel costs of disabled children and those with special needs who need help getting to and from special schools.”

Westminster (£73.2m) had more than double Kensington & Chelsea (£32.1m), with Camden (£26.8m), Hammersmith & Fulham (£23.1m) and Brighton & Hove (£21.2m) making up the top five.

The surplus has increased in England by ten percent since last year, rising from £744 million to £819 million from 2015 to 2016.

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “The upward path in profits is in part a reflection of the record number of cars and volume of traffic.

"The silver lining for drivers is that these surpluses must almost exclusively be ploughed back into transport and as any motorist will tell you there is no shortage of work to be done.

"We welcome the fact that councils are increasingly investing in technology to help make parking easier and less stressful.”

The table below shows the 20 councils in England with the largest surpluses from parking operations, according to the RAC Foundation:

1. Westminster (£73.2 million)

2. Kensington & Chelsea (£32.1 million)

3. Camden (£26.8 million)

4. Hammersmith & Fulham (£23.1 million)

5. Brighton & Hove (£21.2 million)

6. Wandsworth (£20.5 million)

7. Islington (£19.1 million)

8. Haringey (£14.6 million)

9. Hackney (£14.5 million)

10. Hounslow (£12 million)

11. Lambeth (£11.9 million)

12. Milton Keynes (£11.1 million)

13. Birmingham (£11.1 million)

14. Brent (£10.5 million)

15. Merton (£10.2 million)

16. Cornwall (£9.7 million)

17. Bristol (£9.5 million)

18. Tower Hamlets (£9.5 million)

19. Newham (£8.9 million)

20. Barnet (£8.6 million)

(Source: RAC Foundation)

To see the full report, click here.